THE TENTHREDINID.E, OR SAW-FLIES OF 

 GUERNSEY. 



BY MK, W. A. LUFF. 



The Tenthredinidce, or saw-flies, are an important family 

 of insects, many of them in their larval state being very 

 destructive to vegetables and fruit. 



They belong to the Order Hymenoptera, which also 

 includes the Wasps, Bees, Ants and Ichneumon Flies. 



The TenthredinidcB are distinguished from the other 

 families of the Order by being provided with an ovipositor 

 formed like a saw. Each female possesses a pair of these 

 saws, with which she makes incisions or slits in the stems and 

 leaves of plants, and into these the eggs are dropped. The 

 two saw-blades are placed side by side and so skilfully arti- 

 culated that they freely move up and down a grooved piece 

 that serves to keep the instrument sufficiently supported. 

 The saws have different forms in different species, and it is 

 astonishing that parts of a living creature should become 

 tools so mechanically perfect as these saws are. 



The larvae of Saw-flies are very various in their habits ; 

 many of them closely resemble those of the Lejndoptera and 

 feed exposed on the leaves of plants in the same way as 

 Lepidopterous larvae do. 



The larvae of some species, such as the one known to 

 gardeners, as the pear tree Slug, or Slug Worm (Enocampa 

 limacina) is covered with a viscid, slimy substance, which 

 o-ives it very much the appearance of a small black slug ; 

 others, again, live in galls on the leaves and stems of plants, 

 resulting from the wounds made by the parent fly in depositing 

 her eggs. 



Familiar examples of the larvae that resemble those of the 

 Lepidoptera are the Gooseberry and Currant Grubs which are 

 so destructive in our gardens, often completely stripping the 

 bushes of their leaves. 



The largest species of Saw-fly that I have met with is 

 Trichiosoma lucorum. The perfect fly is a large, brown, hairy, 



