Neoptilia

Taxonomy

Family: Argidae
Family common name: argid sawflies
Subfamily: Sterictiphorinae
Genus: Neoptilia Ashmead, 1898
Subgenera: none

Background

Argidae are found in all non-polar regions of the world (Smith and Middlekauff 1987Smith and Middlekauff 1987:
Smith DR and Middlekauff WW. 1987. Suborder Symphyta. In: Stehr FW ed. Immature Insects. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. Vol. 1: 754 pp., Smith 1992Smith 1992:
Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201.). They are external foliage feeders with a wide range of host plants. The family exhibits some uncommon behaviors like the excretion of defensive compounds and subsocialsubsocial:
Living in aggregations but lacking organizational structure as in true social insects; can describes insects with tendencies to protect or care for thier young, feed gregariously, and build cocoon masses.
habits (Smith 1992Smith 1992:
Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201.)

Neoptilia are about 10–12 mm in length, and in North America are generally red and black. They are recognized by coloration, small eyes, and characteristic 3-segmented antennaeantenna:
the sensory organ emerging from the front of the head, usually between the compound eyes and above the clypeus; includes the flagellum, scape and pedicel
, which in males are distinctly forked (Smith 1971cSmith 1971c:
Smith DR. 1971c. Nearctic sawflies of the genera Neoptilia Ashmead, Schizocerella Forsius, Aprosthema Konow, and Sphacophilus Provancher (Hymenoptera: Argidae). Transactions of the American Entomological Society 97: 537-594., Smith 1992Smith 1992:
Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201., Vikberg 2004Vikberg 2004:
Vikberg V. 2004. Seasonal head dimorphism and taxonomy of some European species of Aprosthema (Hymenoptera: Symphyta: Argidae). Beitrauml;ge Zur Entomologie 54 (1): 107-125. https://doi.org/10.21248/contrib.entomol.54.1.107-125).

Diversity

There are 10 species described worldwide, all restricted to the Americas. Eight species are recorded from North America (Taeger et al. 2010Taeger et al. 2010:
Taeger A, Blank SM, and Liston AD. 2010. World Catalog of Symphyta (Hymenoptera). Zootaxa 2580: 1-1064.).

A key to North American species of Neoptilia is included in Smith 1971cSmith 1971c:
Smith DR. 1971c. Nearctic sawflies of the genera Neoptilia Ashmead, Schizocerella Forsius, Aprosthema Konow, and Sphacophilus Provancher (Hymenoptera: Argidae). Transactions of the American Entomological Society 97: 537-594..

Diagnostic characteristics

• three-segmented antennae; a single-segmented flagellumflagellum:
  the third section of the antennae that includes all the segments beyond the pedicel; segments of the flagellum are known as flagellomeres
  (Smith 1992Smith 1992:
  Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201.)
• cenchri large and close together; distance between cenchricenchrus:
  a sclerotized eliptical lobe on the metascutum used to provide friction with underside of wings to hold them in place on the dorsum of the body while in rest
  less than width of cenchruscenchrus:
  a sclerotized eliptical lobe on the metascutum used to provide friction with underside of wings to hold them in place on the dorsum of the body while in rest
  (Smith 1992Smith 1992:
  Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201.)
• metepimeron metepimeron:
  the dorsal portion of the metapleuron
  fused laterally with first tergitetergite:
  a sclerotized segment of the tergum
  (Smith 1992Smith 1992:
  Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201.)
• tibiae with apicalapical:
  towards the apex; farthest away from the body
  spurs (Smith 1992Smith 1992:
  Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201.)
• cell cell:
  1. a membranous area of the wing between veins, 2. a small cavity or closed space
  R closed at apexapex:
  the end or most distal area of any structure
  (Smith 1992Smith 1992:
  Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201.)
• slender, long, 6-segmented palpipalpus:
  jointed structures emerging from the labium and maxilla
  (Smith 1992Smith 1992:
  Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201.)
• tarsal claw tarsal claw:
  sharpened appendage emerging from the apex of the tarsus
  with a long inner tooth; lacking a basalbasal:
  towards the base; closest to the body
  lobe (Smith 1969cSmith 1969c:
  Smith DR. 1969c. Key to genera of Nearctic Argidae (Hymenoptera) with revisions of genera Atomacera Say and Sterictiphora Billberg. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 95: 439-457.)
• eyes relatively small, the length of the eye less than the distance between eyes (Smith 1992Smith 1992:
  Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201.)

May be confused with

The family Argidae can be readily identified by the single-segmented flagellumflagellum:
the third section of the antennae that includes all the segments beyond the pedicel; segments of the flagellum are known as flagellomeres
of the antennaantenna:
the sensory organ emerging from the front of the head, usually between the compound eyes and above the clypeus; includes the flagellum, scape and pedicel
. The genus Neoptilia can be distinguished from other genera in the family by the lack of preapicalpreapical:
close to, but anterior to, the apex
spurs on the tibiaetibia:
the fourth segment of the leg, between the femur and the tarsus
, the bifidbifid:
divided or forked into two branches or parts
tarsal claws, and a lack of veinvein:
a tube-like, often darkened, structure on the wings
Sc in the fore wingfore wing:
the anterior wing of each pair of wings; usually the largest wing of the pair
. Males are distinguished from related genera Arge and Atomacera by the conspicuous forked antennaeantenna:
the sensory organ emerging from the front of the head, usually between the compound eyes and above the clypeus; includes the flagellum, scape and pedicel
(Smith 1992Smith 1992:
Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201.).

Neoptilia are unique in the Argidae by the fused harpesharpes:
structure emerging posterolaterally from the external male genitalia
and gonostipes of the male genitalia, but dissection is usually necessary to observe this character (Smith 1971cSmith 1971c:
Smith DR. 1971c. Nearctic sawflies of the genera Neoptilia Ashmead, Schizocerella Forsius, Aprosthema Konow, and Sphacophilus Provancher (Hymenoptera: Argidae). Transactions of the American Entomological Society 97: 537-594.).

Exotic pest species of concern

none

Host associations

Larvae are external leaf feeders on Malvaceae. Recorded hosts include: Alcea rosea (hollyhock), Malvastrum sp. (false mallow), Malva sp. (mallow), Sphaeralcea angustifolia (copper globemallow), Bastardiopsis densiflora, Allowissadula holosericea (velvetleaf mallow), and Abutilon fruticosum (Indian mallow) (Smith 1992Smith 1992:
Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201., Bugh 2015Bugh 2015:
Bugh V. 2015. The mystery of the purple larvae. Austin Bug Blog. Accessed 2019. http://austinbug.com/larvalbug/val/archval9-15.html, BugGuide 2019BugGuide 2019:
BugGuide. Accessed January 2019. https://bugguide.net).

Life history

The female oviposits along the margin of the leaf. After hatching the larvaelarva:
the immature stage of holometabolous insects
are external feeders on the foliage of a plant, sometimes gregariously, sometimes singly (Smith 1989Smith 1989:
Smith DR. 1989. The sawfly genus Arge (Hymenoptera: Argidae) in the Western Hemisphere. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 115: 83-205.). LarvaeLarva:
the immature stage of holometabolous insects
are caterpillar-like, with variable coloration patterns and usually body ornamentation in the form of tubercles or setaeseta:
hair-like structure
(Smith and Middlekauff 1987Smith and Middlekauff 1987:
Smith DR and Middlekauff WW. 1987. Suborder Symphyta. In: Stehr FW ed. Immature Insects. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. Vol. 1: 754 pp.). Late instar N. tora larvaelarva:
the immature stage of holometabolous insects
are distinctively bright purple in color (Bugh 2010Bugh 2010:
Bugh V. 2010. Riddle of the purple sawfly larvae. Newsletter of the Austin Butterfly Forum March-April-May 2010., BugGuide 2019BugGuide 2019:
BugGuide. Accessed January 2019. https://bugguide.net) and N. malvacearum are red or orange (Smith 1992Smith 1992:
Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201.). This aposematicaposematic:
having warning coloration, indicating that an insect is unpalatable or venemous or otherwise dangerous
coloration may be an indication of defensive toxins present in the body, as in related Arge.

Distribution

World: This genus ranges from as far north as the United States to as far south as Ecuador (Smith 1992Smith 1992:
Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201.).

North America: Neoptilia is widespread in Mexico and Central America. Two species are recorded in the southwestern United States; one species, N. tora, is restricted to Texas (Smith 1992Smith 1992:
Smith DR. 1992. A synopsis of the sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of America south of the United States: Argidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 39: 1-201.).

Map data from: GBIF.org (26 June 2019) GBIF Occurrence Download Neoptilia

Details about data used for maps can be found here.