Sawflies are wasp-like insects that are in 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.
Horntail or wood wasp are any of the 150 non-social species of the hymenopteran family Siricidae, a type of wood-eating sawfly. The common name "horntail" derives from the stout, spine-like structure at the end of the adult's abdomen which is present in both sexes. The ovipositor in females is typically longer and also projects posteriorly, but it is not the source of the name. Though they are not wasps, they are sometimes called wood wasps as the appearance of some species resembles one due to mimicry. A typical adult horntail is brown, blue, or black with yellow or red parts, and may often reach up to 4 cm (1.6 in) long. The pigeon horntail can grow up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long, among the longest of all Hymenoptera.
Megarhyssa, also known as giant ichneumonid wasps, giant ichneumons, or stump stabbers, is a genus of large ichneumon wasps, with some species known for having the longest ovipositors of any insects. They are idiobiont endoparasitoids of the larvae of wood-boring horntail wasps. The ovipositor can be mistaken for a large stinger. This is a genus of holometabolous insects within subfamily Rhyssinae that includes 37 species and belongs to Ichneumonidae, the family of wasps with the highest biodiversity in the world.
The Argentine ant is an ant native to northern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and southern Brazil. This invasive species was inadvertently introduced by humans on a global scale and has become established in many Mediterranean climate areas, including South Africa, New Zealand, Japan, Easter Island, Australia, the Azores, Europe, Hawaii, and the continental United States. Argentine ants are significant pests within agricultural and urban settings, and are documented to cause substantial harm to communities of native arthropods, vertebrates, and plants within their invaded range.
Chouioia is a genus of endoparasitic wasp of the family Eulophidae. Chouioia cunea is considered an important parasite of the fall webworm in China, where the moth is an invasive species.
Tremex columba, also known as the pigeon tremex or pigeon horntail, is a species of horntail that is native to eastern and western North America.
Rhyssa persuasoria, also known as the sabre wasp, is a species belonging to the family Ichneumonidae subfamily Rhyssinae. Members of this subfamily, including those of Rhyssa and the allied Megarhyssa, are also known collectively as giant ichneumonid wasps or giant ichneumons.
Philaenus spumarius, the meadow froghopper or meadow spittlebug, is a species of insect belonging to the spittlebug family Aphrophoridae. In Italy and America, it is economically important as one of the vectors of Pierce's disease.
The Ibaliidae are a small family of the hymenopteran superfamily Cynipoidea. Ibaliidae differ from most of the cynipoids by the larvae being parasitoids on other wasp larvae in the group Siricidae. The Ibaliidae comprise three extant genera of fairly large wasps, with a total of 20 species, and is a sister group to the rest of the cynipoids except the small subfamily Austrocynipidae.
Megarhyssa macrurus, also known as the long-tailed giant ichneumonid wasp or long-tailed giant ichneumon wasp, is a species of large ichneumon wasp. It is a parasitoid, notable for its extremely long ovipositor which it uses to deposit an egg into a tunnel in dead wood bored by its host, the larva of a similarly large species of horntail.
Telenominae is a subfamily of parasitoid wasps in the family Scelionidae. It was previously considered a subfamily of Platygastridae.
Xeris is a genus of horntails found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894.
Heloridae is a family of wasps in the order Hymenoptera known primarily from fossils, and only one extant genus, Helorus, with 12 species found worldwide. Members of Helorus are parasitic on green lacewings.
Triclistus pallipes is a species of ichneumon wasp in the family Ichneumonidae. It is a parasitoid of Epermenia chaerophyllella larvae and Swammerdamia pyrella cocoons
Urocerus is a genus of horntails in the family Siricidae. There are about eight described species in Urocerus.
Ibalia leucospoides, the knife-shaped ibalia, is a species of ibaliid wasp in the family Ibaliidae.
Urocerus japonicus, commonly known as the Japanese horntail, is a species of sawfly, native to southeastern Asia. Studies show that the dispersal distance of the female is higher than the male. The fungal species Amylostereum laevigatum had its first appearance in Japan via this sawfly.
Cotesia icipe is a parasitoid species of wasp of the genus Cotesia. Found in tropical Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, it was first discovered as a parasitoid of the Lepidopterans Spodoptera littoralis and beet armyworm. Therefore it is now being studied as a possible biological control of Lepidopteran pests of amaranth crops in those areas.
Urocerus flavicornis, the yellow-horned horntail wasp, is a species of horntail native to North America.
Bombus hypocrita, also known as the short-tongued bumblebee, is a Japanese bumblebee commonly used in commercial pollination. These short-tongued bumblebees have a proboscis about 7-9mm long, which is folded under their head when flying. Bumblebees are a small fuzzy insect with yellow and black banding along their abdomen. They are round and covered in pile, the hair-like structures that give them their distinct fuzzy appearance.
