Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 95 (2002), pp. 107-15 



Sawfly (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) recording in 

 Wiltshire 1947-2000 



by John Gr ear son 



The characteristics of sawflies are described together with a brief account of their biology and the plants 

 with which they are associated. A list is then provided of all the sawfly records entered on the database of 

 the Biological Records Centre. These consist of records from Sir Christopher Andrewes, who collected in 

 the Salisbury area between 1947 and 1978, and from the author and others throughout the county between 

 1980 and 2000. Comments on some of the rarer species follow. 



INTRODUCTION 



Sawflies have never been a popular group with 

 entomologists and to the public they are largely 

 unfamiliar. The reason is probably because many 

 of the species are difficult to identify and the 

 literature is unhelpful. I have included, therefore, a 

 descriptive section intended to assist readers to 

 recognise sawflies, some of which may be 

 encountered frequently as garden pests. 

 Notwithstanding their anti-social habits, many of 

 the adults are quite striking in appearance and well 

 worth a second glance. 



The primary purpose of this paper is to consider 

 the records held on the Wiltshire sawfly database at 



Fig. 1 . Adult female Tenthredo thompsoni 



the end of the twentieth century. Because very few 

 observers have been involved, the total is only 961 

 records, of which more than half date from after 

 1997. In spite of this low number, 219 of the 501 

 species on the British List are represented. Records 

 published in the Report of the Marlborough College 

 Natural History Society between 1900 and 1934, 

 which will be added to the database in the future, 

 may help to swell further the number of species 

 found in the county before 2000 . 



SAWFLY DESCRIPTION 



The Symphyta form a sub-order of the insect order 

 Hymenoptera, which also includes bees, wasps and 

 ants. In common with most hymenopterans sawflies 

 have two pairs of wings but can be distinguished 

 by the lack of a narrow constriction between the 

 thorax and the abdomen. Female sawflies are 

 responsible for the common name of the group 

 because most possess saws as part of their genitalia 

 which they use to cut into plant tissue in order to 

 deposit their eggs. An exception to this are the 'wood 

 wasps' of the family Siricidae which have a needle- 

 like ovipositor used to penetrate the bark of trees 

 so that eggs can be laid in the softer sapwood. All 

 adult sawflies, with the exception of those in the 

 family Cephidae, possess a pair of small 



10 Eastfield, Ashton Keynes, Swindon SN6 6PR. [author is the Wiltshire county sawfly recorder] 



