Sawflies (Hymenoptera, Symphyta) of three Mid-Atlantic Parks in the George Washington Memorial Parkway, U.S.A.

Edward Barrows,David Smith

doi:10.3897/jhr.39.7907

Abstract

A diverse sawfly fauna of 176 species in 66 genera in 10 families occurred in three parks in the George Washington Memorial Parkway – Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve (DMWP), Great Falls Park (GFP), and Turkey Run Park (TRP). Adult sawflies flew from early March through mid-November. They included the rarely-collected Kerita fidala Ross, a leafminer of Mertensia virginica (L.) Pers. ex Link (Boraginaceae) and an unidentified Caliroa sp. which consumes Staphylea trifolia L. (Staphyleaceae). Nine of the collected species are alien ones in North America. Based on coefficients of community, DMWP was more similar to TRP than GFP, and GFP and TRP were more similar to one another than to DMWP. In DMWP, most species were uncommon in samples. Ninety-five percent of the reported host genera of the collected sawfly species occurred in all three of the parks.

Highlights

Symphyta is a hymenopteran suborder of about 9,000 species in about 1,000 genera in 14 families (Taeger et al 2010), which occurs in many terrestrial habitats worldwide
We found a diverse sawfly fauna of 176 species in 66 genera in 10 families in George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP) which consume at least 57 genera of angiosperms, ferns, gymnosperms, and horsetails (Table 1)
These sawflies include a rarely-collected species (Kerita fidala Ross) recorded as a leafminer of Mertensia virginica (L.) Pers. ex Link (Boraginaceae) and an unidentified Caliroa sp. which consumes Staphylea trifolia L (Staphyleaceae) and is still known only from larvae. Both sawfly species were collected in the floodplain near Turkey Run

Summary

Introduction

Symphyta (sawflies) is a hymenopteran suborder of about 9,000 species in about 1,000 genera in 14 families (Taeger et al 2010), which occurs in many terrestrial habitats worldwide. Stems, and wood, and adults consume leaf pubescence, nectar, other insects, water, or a combination of these things, depending on the species (Smith 1979, 1993). Larvae are external leaf feeders, gall-formers, leafminers, and stem- and wood-borers of a diverse flora of mosses, ferns, conifers, and herbaceous and woody flowering plants. Most sawfly species are larval specialist feeders of one or a few plant genera, except larval Orussidae which parasitize wood-boring beetles. Some sawfly species can cause significant economic damage to agricultural crops, forests, and ornamental plants. Larvae of these species, either as defoliators, stem borers, or wood borers, can reduce growth of plants, even killing them. In the U.S mid-Atlantic area, adults fly from March through October, with most species flying in spring and early summer

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