Pristiphora monogyniae - Small Blackthorn Sawyer
Species not placed in a group

North to southern Scotland, seemingly common and widespread (Musgrove, 2024).

Head, thorax and abdomen black with pale on the labrum, part of the clypeus and more or less the fore and mid knees,tibia and tarsi of all legs. Claws simple without any sub-apical tooth. Antennae are uniformly black above and below. Labrum more or less symmetrical. Males are best determined by examination of the penis valves. In the female, the cerchi clearly extends beyond the sawsheath.

Pristiphora monogyniae larvae feed solitarily on blackthorn and plum.

Jump to other species of Pristiphora

Size: 3.0 - 4.0mm

GB IUCN status: Least Concern
GB rarity status: None

Distribution: England, Wales, Ireland

Flight period: April to May

Plant associations: Prunus spinosa and Prunus domestica (blackthorn and plum)

The National Biodiversity Network records are shown on the map below. (See terms and conditions)

References:

Benson, R.B., 1952. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects. Hymenoptera, Symphyta, Vol 6, Section 2(a-c), Royal Entomological Society, London

Liston A, Knight G, Sheppard D, Broad G, Livermore L (2014) Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera - Sawflies, ‘Symphyta’. Biodiversity Data Journal 2: e1168. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.2.e1168

Musgrove, A.J. 2024. A review of the status of sawflies of Great Britain - Phase 3: The Tenthredinidae (subfamily Nematinae). Natural England, unpublished

Prous, M., Kramp, K., Vikberg, V. and Liston, A., 2017. North-Western Palaearctic species of Pristiphora (hymenoptera, tenthredinidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 59