Pristiphora pseudodecipiens - False Deceiver Spruce Sawyer
Pristiphora abietina group
Just four British records (Beneš and Krístek (1976), Liston 1981, Enston & Williams 2023), but seemingly very common in spruce forests in continental Europe and it seems likely it may be very overlooked in Britain, given the generally low level of recording of spruce-feeding sawflies overall. The species was not featured in Benson (1958) which may also have resulted in a degree of under-recording (Musgrove, 2024).
Similar to Pristiphora decipiens but the hypopygium is not incised posteriorly in pseudodecipiens. Males are best determined by the penis valve.
Larvae feed on spruces.
Jump to other species of Pristiphora
Size: 6.0 - 9.0mm
GB IUCN status: Data Deficient
GB rarity status: Unclear
Distribution: England, Scotland, Wales
Flight period: May to July
Plant associations: Picea abies (norway spruce)
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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 Natural England, unpublished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