''Hoplocampa flava'', commonly referred to as the "plum sawfly" is a species of ''

Hoplocampa ''Hoplocampa'' is a genus of hymenopteran sawfly in the family Tenthredinidae. Species list According to: * '' Hoplocampa marlatti'' * '' Hoplocampa oregonensis'' According to: * '' Hoplocampa cookei'' (Clarke) * ''Hoplocampa testudinea'' ...

'' sawfly. It has been found near the

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basin, Western

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, the

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and from Eastern

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to the Ural Mountains. It has been known to be locally common in these areas. It is a common pest of plum orchards.

Morphology

The adult

fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

has a brown-yellow coloring and is in length; it has 9 segmented antennae, with a similar yellowish color. It has transparent wings with brownish-yellow veins. Its larvae are a whitish color and are around 9 to 11 mm long, with slightly curved , brownish (sometimes orange/yellowish green) and have three pairs of thoracic legs and 7 pairs of abdominal

prolegs A proleg is a small, fleshy, stub structure found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on other larval insects such as sawflies and a few other types of ins ...

Life cycle

''Hoplocampa flava'' is known to nest in the flowerbuds of

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...

, cherry plum,

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

, or sloe. Adults will plant eggs in the buds, following the hatch the larvae burrow into the developing fruits because of this the fruits secrete a oozy substance and prematurely fall off the flower. Following this the larvae burrow into the soil, then return later as an adult sawfly. The bugs also have a specific flight pattern between April and May. The sawfly usually only lasts one single generation, however some may last significantly longer. During the springtime, female ''Hoplocampa flava'', feed on the nectar and pollen, and burrow their eggs on the

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

of the plant. On average each female produces 60 eggs, just one larvae can destroy up to 6 fruits. The larvae emerge right after the blossoming bore and devour the unripe fruits. As recorded previously the then mature

larvae A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

dig into the soil and hibernate during summer and winter.

Morphology

Life cycle

References

Further reading