| Periclista sp (Konow, 1886) |
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Scientific name: Periclista sp (Konow, 1886) Common name: French name: Order: Hymenoptera Family: Tenthredinidae Wingspan : Larvae: 17 to 20 mm long. Adults: 5 to 7 mm. Biotope: Any place where you can find Oaks. Geographic area: Nearctic region. 19 species in North America, 7 in France, etc. Observation period : Adults are generally observed from March to May. Larvae are observed in May-June. They pupate in a cocoon in the soil. |
The sawflies of the Periclista genus are generally a small size and a black colour (some species show reddish or paler marks). The wings are hyaline with black veins and show a stigma. It is easier to observe larvae than adults. They are found on oak leaves. They are whitish to greenish with a black head and bifid spines on a black base. These spines disappear at last moult and you can only see remaining dark spots. There are 7 species of the Periclista genus in France : Periclista lineolata, Periclista albida, Periclista albipennis, Periclista pubescens, Periclista albiventris, Periclista andrei and Periclista vernalis. It is very difficult, even impossible, to tell the species apart from an observation of one larva. Let's just mention that the larva of Periclista pubescens shows rather long spines which only ramify at 2/3 or 3/4 of their length while on the larva of Periclista albida spines start to be bifid from their base. |
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I have observed this larva on a young oak shoot. |
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I have observed this larva on a chestnut tree leaf. However this observation has been done in a forest area where young shoots of oaks and chestnuts grow very close to each other. Maybe this one is just on a move from one oak to another. |
André Bon August 2012