The spitfire sawfly (''Perga affinis'', family

Pergidae The Pergidae are a moderate-sized family of sawflies occurring in the Western Hemisphere and the Australasian Region. The Pergidae are, with almost 450 described species, the third-largest family of Symphyta after the Tenthredinidae and the Argi ...

) is a

hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order (biology), order of insects, comprising the sawfly, sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are Par ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

found in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is up to 22 mm long, has two pairs of wings, with a wingspan up to 40 mm, and its wings are honey colored. Its

larva 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 ...

e are up to 80 mm long and somewhat resemble a caterpillar. The

sawfly Sawflies are the insects of the suborder Symphyta within the order Hymenoptera, alongside ants, bees, and wasps. The common name comes from the saw-like appearance of the ovipositor, which the females use to cut into the plants where they lay ...

derives its name from the saw-like ovipositor of the female, which is used to open holes in the plant within which she lays her eggs. While closely related to wasps, sawflies lack both the narrow waists and stings of wasps. Although the adults of this sawfly species are not often seen, the larvae are quite conspicuous as they grow larger, resembling hairy caterpillars. Steelblue sawfly larvae are usually seen during the day in groups on the branches and stems of ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

'' trees. At night, they disperse to eat leaves of the host plants. When threatened, the larvae raise their heads and eject a strong-smelling. yellow-green liquid consisting predominantly of eucalyptus oil, to deter predators. This action gives them their common name of spitfires.

Description

The larvae vary from dark blue or black to yellow and brown depending on the species, and are up to 80 mm long. The body is sparsely covered with white, bristly hairs. During the day, the larvae congregate in clusters of 20 to 30 for protection and disperse at night to feed. The adult wasps are mainly black or brown, with yellowish markings and are about 25 mm long. Spitfire Caterpillars on concrete footpath Oct 2012 Bathurst

Spitfire Caterpillars on concrete footpath Oct 2012 Bathurst

Lifecycle

The adults are found from about January to May, though mainly in autumn. Eggs are laid under leaf surfaces with the saw-like

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

. The larvae are mainly active during late winter and spring and enter the soil to

pupate A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

usually in mid-spring. Pupation takes place in strong. paper-like cocoons, which are often clustered several centimetres deep in the soil. The pupal stage may extend over two or three years before the adult emerges.http://www.pestanators.com/Pest-Identification.html

Damage

Larvae of spitfires feed on the foliage of young trees and regrowth stems, and can strip the branches of foliage, particularly at the tops. This is usually replaced during the spring-summer flush of leaf growth. Serious retardation of high growth may result from repeated attack, but host death is unusual.

Wandoo Wandoo is the common name for a number of Western Australian ''Eucalyptus'' species, all of which have smooth white bark. The original "wandoo" is ''Eucalyptus wandoo''. Additional species have been given this name because of a perceived likeness w ...

is the most commonly attacked species in Western Australia.

Control

This defoliator rarely causes widespread damage, but where the clusters of larvae are accessible, the simplest method of control is to remove and destroy them during the day. Several parasitic wasps also have some controlling effect.

References

External links

Sawflies: a close relative of wasps
Retrieved 2010-04-10. CSIRO.
Bug Guide
Retrieved 26-10-2010

Retrieved 26-10-2010 Brisbane Insects
Sawflies
Australian Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Spitfire Sawfly Tenthredinoidea Hymenoptera of Australia