symphyta

We erect the Cenocimbicinae, a new subfamily of Cimbicidae (Hymenoptera, Symphyta), restricted to the Selandian Menat Formation of France, the oldest occurrence of the family, and the Ypresian Okanagan Highlands of far-western North America. We describe new taxa from the Okanagan Highlands: Allenbycimbex morrisae gen. et sp. nov. and Leptostigma n. gen. with seven new species: L. alaemacula n. sp., L. brevilatum n. sp., L. fasciatum n. sp., L. longiclava n. sp., L. longipallidum n. sp., L. longitenebricum n...

Outbreaks of the spongy moth Lymantria dispar can have devastating impacts on forest resources and ecosystems. Lepidoptera-specific insecticides, such as Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (BTK) and tebufenozide, are often deployed to prevent heavy defoliation of the forest canopy. While it has been suggested that using BTK poses less risk to non-target Lepidoptera than leaving an outbreak untreated, in situ testing of this assumption has been impeded by methodological challenges. The trade-offs between insecticide use and outbreaks have yet to be addressed for tebufenozide, which is believed to have stronger side effects than BTK...

Several sawfly species (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) possess larval stages with oesophageal diverticula in which plant compounds are sequestered and used for defence against predators. These organs are present in the larvae of Susana (Tenthredinidae) but remain poorly studied. Here, the aim was to analyse the diverticula extract of Susana cupressi by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to better understand the ecology of this species. The foliage of the hostplant (Cupressus sempervirens), as well as the larval foregut, midgut, and haemolymph were also analysed...

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the sawfly, Nesodiprion zhejiangensis Zhou & Xiao, was sequenced, assembled, and deposited in GenBank (Accession Number: OM501121). The 15,660 bp N. zhejiangensis mitogenome encodes for 2 ribosomal RNAs (rrnL and rrnS), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), and an AT-rich region of 450 bp in length. The nucleotide composition is biased toward adenine and thymine (A + T = 81.8%). Each PCG is initiated by an ATN codon, except for cox2, which starts with a TTG...

The long-necked woodwasp superfamily Xiphydrioidea belongs to the suborder Symphyta (Hymenoptera). Here we newly characterize the complete mitochondrial genome of the South Korean Euxiphydria potanini (Xiphydriidae) using next-generation sequencing: 16,500 bp long with 84.27% A + T content and 37 typical mitochondrial genes including those encoding 13 PCGs, 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, and one A + T rich region. We compare the patterns of symphytan mitochondrial gene arrangement with those of an ancestral insect form and found some synapomorphic rearrangements in phylogenetic context...

Two new species of Pamphiliidae, Scabolyda latusa sp. nov. and Scabolyda tenuis sp. nov. are described and illustrated from the late Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation and the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of northeastern China, respectively. A new specimen of Scabolyda orientalis Wang, Rasnitsyn, Shih and Ren, 2014 with distinct male genitalia is documented for the first time. Based on the specimens with new and distinct structures of legs, antennae, and genitalia, the morphological characters of Scabolyda are supplemented: antenna with ca...

One new genus and species, Leptoxyela eximia gen. et sp. nov., and one new species, Scleroxyela cephalota sp. nov., are described and illustrated based on two well-preserved compression fossils from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation and the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of China, respectively. Leptoxyela eximia gen. et sp. nov. is placed in the tribe Angaridyelini, 1966 and Scleroxyela cephalota sp. nov. in the tribe Xyeleciini Benson, 1945; while both tribes are in the subfamily Macroxyelinae Ashmead, 1898 of Xyelidae...

A new fossil horntail wood wasp (Hymenoptera, Symphyta, Siricidae), Eourocerus anguliterreus gen. et sp. nov. from an early Eocene Okanagan Highlands locality at Republic, Washington, USA is described. Its forewing is most like that of the extant and fossil genus Urocerus Geoffroy, 1785. It is the third fossil siricid described from North America. We treat Xeris dorbnikensis Manukyan Smirnova, 2021 and Xeris sp. of Manukyan Smirnova (2021) as Urocerus dorbnikensis (Manukyan Smirnova, 2021), comb. nov. and Urocerus sp...

Extracts of Diprion similis females contained about 15 ng of the sex pheromone precursor 3,7-dimethylpentadecan-2-ol per female. After derivatisation with ( S )-2-acetoxypropanoyl chloride, we found that the major stereoisomer in the extract was (2 S ,3 R ,7 R )-3,7-dimethylpentadecan-2-ol. Small amounts of other stereoisomers of 3,7-dimethylpentadecan-2-ol were also identified in the extract, namely 1% of (2 R ,3 S ,7 S ), 0.3% (2 R ,3 R ,7 R ) and 0.4% of (2 R ,3 R ,7 S ). An unknown fifth substance showed a very similar spectrum to 3,7-dimethylpentadecan-2-ol, both in SIM and full scan mode...

A precondition for colour vision is the presence of at least two spectral types of photoreceptors in the eye. The order Hymenoptera is traditionally divided into the Apocrita (ants, bees, wasps) and the Symphyta (sawflies, woodwasps, horntails). Most apocritan species possess three different photoreceptor types. In contrast, physiological studies in the Symphyta have reported one to four photoreceptor types. To better understand the evolution of photoreceptor diversity in the Hymenoptera, we studied the Symphyta Sirex noctilio, which belongs to the superfamily Siricoidea, a closely related group of the Apocrita suborder...

The mitochondrial genome of Conaspidia wangi Wei, 2015 was described. The total length of the sequence was 15,924 bp. The overall A + T content was 80.4%. In comparison with the ancestral organization, trnG was reversed and translocated between the AT-rich region and trnQ , which was reported for the first time in Symphyta. The downstream gene order of the AT-rich region were thus arranged as trnG - trnQ - trnM - trnI .

The sawfly larvae of most Argidae and Pergidae (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) species contain toxic peptides, and these along with other traits contribute to their defense. However, the effectiveness of their defense strategy, especially against ants, remains poorly quantified. Here, five Arge species, A. berberidis, A. nigripes, A. ochropus, A. pagana, A. pullata, plus three Pergidae species, Lophyrotoma analis, Lophyrotoma zonalis, Philomastix macleaii, were tested in laboratory bioassays on ant workers mainly of Myrmica rubra...

Hymenoptera is a hyperdiverse insect order represented by over 153,000 different species. As many hymenopteran species perform various crucial roles for our environments, such as pollination, herbivory, and parasitism, they are of high economic and ecological importance. There are 99 hymenopteran genomes in the NCBI database, yet only five are representative of the paraphyletic suborder Symphyta (sawflies, woodwasps, and horntails), while the rest represent the suborder Apocrita (bees, wasps, and ants). Here, using a combination of 10X Genomics linked-read sequencing, Oxford Nanopore long-read technology, and Illumina short-read data, we assembled the genomes of two willow-galling sawflies (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae: Nematinae: Euurina): the bud-galling species Euura lappo and the leaf-galling species Eupontania aestiva...

Taxonomic and biological notes are given for the East Asian sawfly Pristiphora ribisi Togashi, 1990, injurious to Ribes. The following new synonyms of this species are proposed: Pristiphora (Pristiphora) anivskiensis Haris, 2006, syn. nov., Pristiphora (Pristiphora) nigrocoreana Haris Zsolnai, 2007, syn. nov. and Pristiphora grossulariae Anon., 1912 [a primary homonym of Pristiphora grossulariae Walsh, 1866], syn. nov. The lectotype of Pristiphora grossulariae Anon., 1912 is designated. Redescriptions of the adult and immature stages are given...

Most Asopinae stinkbugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) prey on other insects, including sawfly larvae (Hymenoptera: Symphyta). Sawfly larvae of the Argidae and Pergidae contain toxic peptides, but whether they are defended against stinkbugs remains poorly studied. A literature survey indicates that no publication is devoted to laboratory tests specifically using these sawflies against stinkbugs. Here, laboratory bioassays were made with the stinkbug Picromerus bidens and four sawfly species at last larval instars: Arge ochropus (Argidae), Arge pagana (also tested at medium instars), Lophyrotoma zonalis (Pergidae), and Allantus rufocinctus (Tenthredinidae)...

Caterpillars (Lepidoptera and Symphyta larvae) employ diverse visual defensive tactics, and effectiveness of such tactics may be highly dynamic across time due to seasonal changes in the predator assemblages and their preference. This, however, has rarely been studied especially in tropical regions. Here we assessed temporal changes in the defensive value of caterpillar color and shape, using six types of plasticine dummy caterpillars: three colors (green, black, and white) × two shapes (curled and straight)...

This paper records the first occurrence of the genus Myrmicium Westwood, 1854 in the Cretaceous of Gondwana and describes it as a new species Myrmicium araripterum sp. nov, based on the most complete specimen of this genus yet known, which represents the largest specimen of the grade "Symphyta" ever found in the Crato Formation.

The rapidly growing number of mitogenomes in Hymenoptera has mostly been used to explain higher level phylogeny, however, there are inadequate studies that focused on the shared and distinctive patterns of mitogenome evolution. Here, the complete mitogenome of Neodiprion sertifer (Symphyta: Diprionidae) was reported for the first time and it was found to be the most rearranged mitogenome in Symphyta, with five rearrangement events. The mitogenome architectures and features were also investigated in 73 hymenopteran species...

Larvae of most Pergidae and Argidae (Symphyta: Tenthredinoidea) species contain toxic peptides such as pergidin and lophyrotomin. Here, larval hemolymph and organs of the pergid Lophyrotoma zonalis and the argid Arge pagana were analysed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The major identified peptides were pergidin and 4-valinepergidin in L. zonalis, whereas pergidin and lophyrotomin in A. pagana. The storage period prior to chemical analysis was longer for the samples of the pergid than the argid species, which influenced peptide concentrations...

A survey of the 'Symphyta' of Colombia is conducted, based on information from literature as well as on examination of over 2,000 specimens from the major Colombian entomological collections. A total of 127 species are recorded from Colombia, representing six families: Argidae (48 species), Tenthredinidae (37) Pergidae (37), Xiphydriidae (3 species), Siricidae (1 species) and Orussidae (1 species). 11 genera and 68 species are new records for Colombia, doubling the number of previously reported species. Heteroperreyia (Pergidae) is recorded for the first time in northern South America...