Diprionidae

Taxonomy

Superfamily: Tenthrediniodea
Family: Diprionidae
Family common name: coniferconifer:
a usually evergreen tree characterized by reproductive cones; e.g., pine, fir, spruce, larch, etc.
sawflies
Subfamilies: Diprioninae, Monoctinae

Background

The family Diprionidae, the coniferconifer:
a usually evergreen tree characterized by reproductive cones; e.g., pine, fir, spruce, larch, etc.
sawflies, are common in forested regions of the world. The family include several economic pests, including some introduced species, that can severely damage important forestry tree species (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.). They can be recognized by characteristic stout bodies and comb-like or saw-like 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
(Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.).

Diversity

Diprionidae includes 13 genera and 140 species worldwide. Six genera and 54 species are NearcticNearctic:
describing the region of the Northern Hemisphere that includes North America south through northern Mexico
in distribution (Taeger et al. 2018Taeger et al. 2018:
Taeger A, Liston AD, Prous M, Groll EK, Gehroldt T, and Blank SM. 2018. ECatSymmdash;Electronic World Catalog of Symphyta (Insecta, Hymenoptera). Program version 5.0 (19 Dec 2018), data version 40 (23 Sep 2018). Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut (SDEI), Muuml;ncheberg. https://sdei.de/ecatsym/ Accessed: 28 Jan 2020.).

North American genera

Augomonoctenus
Diprion
Gilpinia
Monoctenus
Neodiprion
Zadiprion

Diagnostic characteristics

• pronotum pronotum:
  the anterodorsal part of the thorax, often situated posterior to the head
  medially constricted as seen from above (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
  Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.)
• propleuron propleuron:
  a lateral sclerite located between the pronotum and episternum near the anterior of the body
  short ventrally (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
  Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.)
• two fore tibialfore tibia:
  the tibia of the fore leg
  spurs present (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
  Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.)
• 15–20 antennal segments (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
  Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.)
• male antennal segments with projections; 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
  comb-like (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
  Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.)
• female antennal segments expanded at the apicesapex:
  the end or most distal area of any structure
  , 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
  serrate (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
  Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.)
• ocelli are almost lined up, angle from the center ocellusocellus:
  a simple bead-like eye, often on the dorsum of the head in groups of 1-3
  large (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
  Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.)
• tergite tergite:
  a sclerotized segment of the tergum
  1 not laterally fused to metapleuronmetapleuron:
  the posterior lateral part of the thorax including the metepimeron and metepisternum
  , sclerites separated (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
  Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.)

Host associations

In North America, Diprionidae feed on coniferconifer:
a usually evergreen tree characterized by reproductive cones; e.g., pine, fir, spruce, larch, etc.
trees, generally in the families Pinaceae and Cupressaceae (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.).

May be confused with

Sawflies in this family are similar in form to families in the superfamily Tenthredinoidea: Pergidae, Argidae, and Tenthredinidae. Diprionidae can be distinguished by the number of antennal segments and the distinctive antennal forms (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.).

Life history

Diprionidae in North America are generally gregariousgregarious:
describing insects in large groups or aggregations
external needle feeders. Several species in the subfamily Diprioninae especially are known for complete defoliation of the host. One species is known to feed inside developing cones of the host (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.).

Distribution

World: The family most common in boreal regions of North America, Europe, and Asia, with some range expansions south into North Africa, India, and Thailand (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.).

North America: Diprionidae occurs throughout the United States and Canada, and south into Central America and the Caribbean Islands (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., Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.).