Tenthredo ferruginea

Recorded throughout most of mainland Britain, as well as the Hebrides (Musgrove, 2023).

A larger species and often largely reddish in colour though darker forms exist. Although the stigma is unicolorous brown the vein at the basal end can be creamy yellow giving the appearance of a bicolorous stigma in photos. The head above is punctured with a bronze reflection. The antenna is partly pale to varying extent.

Tenthredo ferruginea larvae feed on a broad range of plants including bracken, meadowsweet, plum, alder and willow.

Jump to other species of Tenthredo

Size: 10 - 13mm

GB IUCN Status: Least Concern
GB Rarity Status: None

Distribution: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland

Flight period: June to August

Plant associations: Pteridium aquilinum (bracken), Filipendula ulmaria (meadowsweet), Prunus spp. (wild plums), Alnus spp. (alders), Salix spp. (willows).

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

Fekete, K. (2018) Beginner’s guide to identifying British Tenthredo, Natural History Museum, London. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/content/dam/nhmwww/take-part/identification-trainers/sawflies-guide-id-trainees.pdf [Accessed 26Apr2019]

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. 2023. A review of the status of sawflies of Great Britain - Phase 2: The Athaliidae and the Tenthredinidae (excluding Nematinae). Natural England, unpublished