ITP Logo

Sirex tianshanicus

Taxonomy

Family: Siricidae
Subfamily: Siricinae
Genus: Sirex Linnaeus, 1760
Species: Sirex tianshanicus (Semenov, 1921)
Common names: none

Background

Sirex tianshanicus is a rare species known from central Asia (Smith 1978Smith 1978:
Smith DR. 1978. Suborder Symphyta (Xyelidae, Parachexyelidae, Parapamphiliidae, Xyelydidae, Karatavitidae, Gigasiricidae, Sepulcidae, Pseudosiricidae, Anaxyelidae, Siricidae, Xiphydriidae, Paroryssidae, Xyelotomidae, Blasticotomidae, Pergidae). Hymenopterorum Catalogus 14: 1-193.). The name comes from the Tian Shan mountain range (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.).

Diagnostic characteristics

See Sirex for genus-level diagnostic characteristics.

Females:

  • head and thoraxthorax:
    the second and middle segment of the body, between the head and abdomen
    metallic blue-green; abdomenabdomen:
    the third and last segment of an insect's body; in sawflies this is usually made up of 11 segments (segments 9 and 10 often fused)
     metallic blue-purple (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
    Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.    )
  • fore wing fore wing:
    the anterior wing of each pair of wings; usually the largest wing of the pair
    hyaline (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
    Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.    )
  • antenna antenna:
    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
    black (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
    Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.    )
  • coxae and trochanters black; remaining leg parts reddish-brown (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
    Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.    )
  • cornus cornus:
    a pointed horn-like process on the apical end of the abdomen in Siricidae sawflies; on tergite 10 in females, sternite 9 in males
    long (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
    Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.    )
  • ovipositor ovipositor:
    the female organ that deposits eggs and is used to drill into plant tissue, located at the apex of the abdomen, made up of the lance and lancet
    length about equal to length of abdomenabdomen:
    the third and last segment of an insect's body; in sawflies this is usually made up of 11 segments (segments 9 and 10 often fused)
     from basebase:
    the beginning or most proximal area of any structure
    to cornuscornus:
    a pointed horn-like process on the apical end of the abdomen in Siricidae sawflies; on tergite 10 in females, sternite 9 in males
    (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
    Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.    )

Males:

  • head and thoraxthorax:
    the second and middle segment of the body, between the head and abdomen
    blue with a slight greenish tint (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
    Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.    )
  • fore wing fore wing:
    the anterior wing of each pair of wings; usually the largest wing of the pair
    hyaline (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
    Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.    )
  • antenna antenna:
    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
    black (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
    Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.    )
  • abdominal tergites 1–2 blue, remaining reddish-brown (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
    Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.    )
  • femora reddish-brown (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
    Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.    )
  • fore tibia fore tibia:
    the tibia of the fore leg
    and tarsustarsus:
    the fifth and last segment of the leg
    red; mid tibiatibia:
    the fourth segment of the leg, between the femur and the tarsus
    black with a reddish spot; hind tibiatibia:
    the fourth segment of the leg, between the femur and the tarsus
    and most of tarsustarsus:
    the fifth and last segment of the leg
    black (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
    Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.    )
  • hind tarsomeretarsomere:
    a segment of the tarsus
    5 red (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
    Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.    )

May be confused with

Sirex tianshanicus females are similar to S. juvencus and can be distinguished by a slightly longer ovipositorovipositor:
the female organ that deposits eggs and is used to drill into plant tissue, located at the apex of the abdomen, made up of the lance and lancet
(about 0.75 times length of fore wingfore wing:
the anterior wing of each pair of wings; usually the largest wing of the pair
) and the green coloration (Benson 1943Benson 1943:
Benson RB. 1943. Studies in Siricidae, especially of Europe and southern Asia (Hymenoptera, Smphyta). Bulletin of Entomological Research 34 (1): 27-51. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007485300023464, Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.).

Morphological and geographical variation

none recorded

Host associations

Sirex species feed on trees of Pinaceae and Cupressaceae. Sirex tianshanicus is known from Picea schrenkiana (Asian spruce) (Smith 1978Smith 1978:
Smith DR. 1978. Suborder Symphyta (Xyelidae, Parachexyelidae, Parapamphiliidae, Xyelydidae, Karatavitidae, Gigasiricidae, Sepulcidae, Pseudosiricidae, Anaxyelidae, Siricidae, Xiphydriidae, Paroryssidae, Xyelotomidae, Blasticotomidae, Pergidae). Hymenopterorum Catalogus 14: 1-193.).

Life history

Female Sirex harbor symbiotic basidiomycete fungus in abdominal glands called mycangia. During oviposition, the site is inoculated with the fungus (Amylostereum spp.), which begins to decompose the surrounding wood. LarvaeLarva:
the immature stage of holometabolous insects
feed on the fungus, and in the process bore galleries through the wood (Schiff et al. 2012Schiff et al. 2012:
Schiff NM, Goulet H, Smith DR, Boudreault C, Wilson AD, and Scheffler BE. 2012. Siricidae (Hymenoptera: Symphyta: Siricoidea) of the Western Hemisphere. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification 21: 1-305.).

Larvae are creamy white and grub-like in appearance with a dark head capsule. As with adults, larvaelarva:
the immature stage of holometabolous insects
possess a short dorsaldorsal:
of or on the top surface of the body or structure
horn on the posterior end of the body. The larvaelarva:
the immature stage of holometabolous insects
bore galleries into wood, feeding until pupation and subsequent emergence. Throughout this process, the larvaelarva:
the immature stage of holometabolous insects
use their horn to pack the tunnel behind them with sawdust. Emergence holes are perfectly circular. The fungal symbiont is carried in specialized organs in female larvaelarva:
the immature stage of holometabolous insects
that develop into the mycangia after metamorphosis (Schiff et al. 2012Schiff et al. 2012:
Schiff NM, Goulet H, Smith DR, Boudreault C, Wilson AD, and Scheffler BE. 2012. Siricidae (Hymenoptera: Symphyta: Siricoidea) of the Western Hemisphere. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification 21: 1-305.).

This species generally oviposits into dying or damaged trees. The damage inflicted by S. tianshanicus in the forests of the Tien Shan mountain range is minor on its own, but in conjunction with human-inflicted tree damage and other pest pressure, can lead to the death of the tree (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.).

The flight period of S. tianshanicus is June through September (Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.).

Distribution

World: Sirex tianshanicus is recorded in the Tian Shan mountainous regions of western China, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan (Smith 1978Smith 1978:
Smith DR. 1978. Suborder Symphyta (Xyelidae, Parachexyelidae, Parapamphiliidae, Xyelydidae, Karatavitidae, Gigasiricidae, Sepulcidae, Pseudosiricidae, Anaxyelidae, Siricidae, Xiphydriidae, Paroryssidae, Xyelotomidae, Blasticotomidae, Pergidae). Hymenopterorum Catalogus 14: 1-193., Kazenas and Temreshev 2016Kazenas and Temreshev 2016:
Kazenas VL and Temreshev II. 2016. Horntails (Hymenoptera: Siricidae, Xiphydriidae) of Almatinskaya Oblast of Kazakhstan. Euroasian Entomological Journal 15 (5): 403-411.).

North America: not recorded

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

Details about data used for maps can be found here.