Pristiphora pseudocoactula - Dark Birch Sawyer
Pristiphora alpestris group
Only ever recorded from three sites in southern England, with none since 1945 despite a number of active recorders in the same areas since. Benson (1953) said that it 'occurs rarely in early spring (March-April) on heaths in Southern England often together with the closely related P. alpestris' (Musgrove, 2024).
Very similar to Pristiphora alpestris but usually with a black clypeus, labrum hind femur and sawsheath. The female is best determined by the characteristics of the saw. Males are best determined by the penis valve.
Pristiphora pseudocoactula larvae feed on downy birch and develop rapidly (10 to 15 days). May also feed on other birches and willows.
Jump to other species of Pristiphora
Size: 5.0 - 6.0mm
GB IUCN status: Regionally Extinct
GB rarity status: Extinct
Distribution: England
Flight period: May to July
Plant associations: Betula pubescens (downy birch)
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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 Natural England, unpublished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, Vol. 59