Sawflies
All images on this website have been taken in Leicestershire and Rutland by NatureSpot members. We welcome new contributions - just register and use the Submit Records form to post your photos. Click on any image below to visit the species page. The RED / AMBER / GREEN dots indicate how easy it is to identify the species - see our Identification Difficulty page for more information. A coloured rating followed by an exclamation mark denotes that different ID difficulties apply to either males and females or to the larvae - see the species page for more detail.
Sawflies
Sawflies are part of the insect order, Hymenoptera, together with bees, wasps and ants. However they are considered to be the most primitive group and form the sub-order - Symphyta. They differ from the bees, wasps and ants in not having a 'waist' and in their wing venation. Most female sawflies possess 'saw-like' genitalia which they use to cut through plant tissue in order to lay their eggs. All sawflies are harmless and cannot sting. In Britain there are around 107 different genera and about 500 species. The actual numbers constantly change as new species are added and others are lost. It is unclear how many can be found in Leicestershire and Rutland as it is a very under-recorded group.
The sawfly species in this gallery are displayed in family taxonomic order according to the UK checklist (Liston 2014). Species within each family are ordered alphabetically.
British Sawflies website - an excellent and expanding resource covering most UK species
British and Irish Sawflies Facebook Group - very useful site to post images for speedy identification help
British Sawflies - Adam Wright. An Aidgap key to the genera of UK sawflies.
Royal Entomological Society Keys by Benson
Mike Hackston’s insect keys: Symphyta
Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera - Sawflies, "Symphyta" by Liston et al
John Grearson sawfly photos - both adults and larvae
ID Guide to Tenthredo Species - a detailed guide to the identification of UK Tenthredo sawflies from the Natural History Museum (free download)
A Beginners Guide to Sawflies - a useful photographic guide to the families, larvae and pest species (free download)
Steven Falk’s Flickr sawfly collection
Tanyptera Project video: Introduction to UK Sawflies
Status of British Sawflies - video
A Review of the Status of the Sawflies of Great Britain - report
If you know of other websites or books that you would recommend, do let us know: info@naturespot.org
Cephidae - Stem boring sawflies
Pamphiliidae
Siricidae
Argidae
Many of the species in this family are amongst the most common sawflies encountered. The family is characterised by the fused antennal segments. If the antennae are segmented then it isn't this family!
