| Neodiprion pinetum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Suborder: | Symphyta |
| Family: | Diprionidae |
| Genus: | Neodiprion |
| Species: | N. pinetum |
| Binomial name | |
| Neodiprion pinetum | |
Neodiprion pinetum is a species of sawfly in the family Diprionidae. It is commonly known as the white pine sawfly, a name sometimes also applied to Diprion similis , because the larvae of both species feed on the needles of the white pine (Pinus strobus).
The adult N. pinetum is a broad-bodied insect with membranous wings. Females have a saw-like ovipositor at the tip of the abdomen and are larger than males. The larvae have black heads and are creamy-coloured or yellowish, with four longitudinal rows of black spots. [2]
N. pinetum is native to North America, its range extending through the eastern United States to southeastern Canada. [3]
The main host for the larvae of this species is the white pine (Pinus strobus), but it also occurs on the pitch pine (Pinus rigida), short-leaf pine (Pinus echinata), the red pine (Pinus resinosa) and the Swiss mountain pine (Pinus mugo). [4]
The adult sawflies appear in late spring. The female uses its ovipositor to cut a slit along the edge of a pine needle and lays several eggs in this. If mating has occurred, both male and female offspring develop, but unmated females can also lay viable eggs, and these result in entirely male offspring. Each female lays about one hundred eggs over the course of a few months. The first instar larvae are gregarious and consume the surface layer of the needles but later instars spread out through the foliage and consume the whole needle. They feed on both old and young pine needles; [2] heavy infestations can seriously defoliate the tree and isolated clumps of white pine can be killed. [5] When the larvae are fully developed, they descend to the ground where they make cocoons among the leaf litter; in these they overwinter as non-feeding prepupae, pupating in the spring and emerging as adults a few weeks later. [2]
Several parasitic wasps attack the larvae of this sawfly, and the egg parasitoid Closterocerus cinctipennis was found to be 90% effective in controlling an outbreak of the pest in Crawford County, Wisconsin. [5]
Sawflies are the insects of the suborder Symphyta within the order Hymenoptera alongside ants, bees and wasps. The common name comes from the saw-like appearance of the ovipositor, which the females use to cut into the plants where they lay their eggs. The name is associated especially with the Tenthredinoidea, by far the largest superfamily in the suborder, with about 7,000 known species; in the entire suborder, there are 8,000 described species in more than 800 genera. Symphyta is paraphyletic, consisting of several basal groups within the order Hymenoptera, each one rooted inside the previous group, ending with the Apocrita which are not sawflies.
The spitfire sawfly is a hymenopteran insect found in Australia. It is up to 22 mm long. It has two pairs of wings, with a wingspan up to 40 mm. Its wings are honey colored. Its larvae are up to 80 mm long, and somewhat resemble a caterpillar.
Eacles imperialis, the imperial moth, is a Nearctic member of the family Saturniidae and subfamily Ceratocampinae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.
Dryocampa rubicunda, the rosy maple moth, is a small North American moth in the family Saturniidae, also known as the great silk moths. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793. The species is known for its wooly body and pink and yellow coloration, which varies from cream or white to bright pink or yellow. Males have bushier antennae than females, which allow them to sense female pheromones for mating.
The Diprionidae are a small family of conifer-feeding sawflies restricted to the Northern Hemisphere, with some 140 species in 13 genera. Larvae are often gregarious, and sometimes there can be major outbreaks, thus these sawflies can be major forest pests at times. These sawflies have the ability to compromise the health and ecological balance of forests. When the temperatures begin to rise, the sawflies become strengthened pests to these conifers. In doing so, they cause damage to a certain extent.
Delphastus pusillus is a small ladybird beetle which preys on all species and stages of whitefly, but prefers eggs and nymphs. The adults are small, shiny, black beetles. Newly emerged adults are pale-brown to almost white. They eventually turn black with a brown head. The eggs are 0.2 mm long, clear and twice as long as they are wide. The elongate larvae are pale yellow.
Pristiphora erichsonii, the larch sawfly, is a species of sawfly. The adult sawfly resembles a black wasp, is about ½ inch in length with a thick waist and has brown to orangish markings on the abdomen. Larvae have black heads, gray-green bodies with white undersides, and are about 15–18 mm long when full grown. Larvae occur in groups and characteristically curl their bodies upward in a "J" shape when disturbed.
Choristoneura fumiferana, the eastern spruce budworm, is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae native to the eastern United States and Canada. The caterpillars feed on the needles of spruce and fir trees. Eastern spruce budworm populations can experience significant oscillations, with large outbreaks sometimes resulting in wide scale tree mortality. The first recorded outbreaks of the spruce budworm in the United States occurred in about 1807, and since 1909 there have been waves of budworm outbreaks throughout the eastern United States and Canada. In Canada, the major outbreaks occurred in periods circa 1910–20, c. 1940–50, and c. 1970–80, each of which impacted millions of hectares of forest. Longer-term tree-ring studies suggest that spruce budworm outbreaks have been recurring approximately every three decades since the 16th century, and paleoecological studies suggest the spruce budworm has been breaking out in eastern North America for thousands of years.
Zeiraphera canadensis, the spruce bud moth, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It is a small brown moth mainly found in North America, specifically New Brunswick, Quebec, and the north-eastern United States. The adult moth flutters quickly, and stays low among trees during the day and higher above tree cover after sunset. The spruce bud moth relies primarily on the white spruce tree as a host plant. Both male and female spruce bud moths mate multiply, however males have the ability to secrete accessory gland proteins that prevent female re-mating. The moth is univoltine, meaning only one generation hatches per year, and its eggs overwinter from July to May. The species Z. ratzeburgiana is very similar to Z. canadensis and can only be distinguished by the presence of an anal comb in Z. canadensis.
Protoboarmia porcelaria, the porcelain gray or dash-lined looper, is a Geometrid species of moth found throughout North America, except in the far north. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1857.
The sirex woodwasp is a species of horntail, native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. Adults vary in length from 9 to 36 mm.
Lymantria dispar dispar, commonly known as the gypsy moth, European gypsy moth, or North American gypsy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae that is of Eurasian origin. It has a range that extends over Europe, Africa, and North America.
Neodiprion sertifer, the European pine sawfly or red pine sawfly, is a sawfly species in the genus Neodiprion. Although native to Europe, it was accidentally introduced to North America in 1925.
Neodiprion abietis, a Diprinoid phytophagous specialist commonly known as the balsam fir sawfly, is an insect found within Canada and throughout the United States.
Spruce sawflies are various sawfly species found in North America that feed on spruce. There are multiple species of sawflies known as spruce sawflies, including species in the genera Gilpinia, Pikonema, Pristiphora, and Cephalcia. Each kind of sawfly attacks particular parts of the spruce as larvae during different times of the year.
Diprion similis is a species of sawfly in the family Diprionidae. It is native to central and northern Europe and Asia but has been accidentally introduced into North America where it has become invasive. The larvae feed on the needles of pine trees, especially those of the white pine. In North America it is known as the introduced pine sawfly or the imported pine sawfly. It is also known as the white pine sawfly because of its preference for feeding on the white pine, but this name is confusing because another sawfly, Neodiprion pinetum, whose larvae also feed on this tree, is itself known as the "white pine sawfly".
Neodiprion lecontei is a species of sawfly in the family Diprionidae native to eastern North America, commonly known as the red-headed pine sawfly or leconte's sawfly. The larvae feed on the foliage of many species of native and imported pines. This species was named after John Lawrence LeConte, an American entomologist of the 19th century.
Dahlbominus fuscipennis, the sawfly parasitic wasp, is a species of chalcid wasp from the family Eulophidae which parasitizes the European pine sawfly Neodiprion sertifer, among other hosts. It is the only species in the genus Dahlbominus.
Acantholyda erythrocephala is a species of sawfly in the family Pamphiliidae commonly known as the red-headed pine sawfly or the pine false webworm. Native to Europe, it has been introduced into North America where it has become invasive.
Lathrolestes luteolator is a species of wasp in the family Ichneumonidae. it is native to North America and is a parasitoid of various species of sawfly larvae. In the 1990s, it started to parasitise the larvae of the invasive amber-marked birch leaf miner in Alberta. When this pest spread to Alaska, the wasp was used in biological pest control.