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Symphyta

Common name:

Sawflies, horntails/wood wasp

Distribution:

Every continent except Antarctica

Habitat:

Found in areas with lots of trees and shrubs

Diet:

Pollen, nectar, honeydew, sap, other insects, including hemolymph (blood) of the larvae hosts for parasitic species

Number of species globally

7,000

Number of species in Hong Kong :

16

Morphology
(how to recognize them) :

-No waist between the abdomen and thorax
-Saw-like ovipositor
-Horntails have a stout, which is a spine-like structure at the end of their abdomen
-Larvae look like caterpillars

Diagram

Did you know ?

The name sawfly comes from the saw-like appearance of the ovipositor, which is what females use to cut into the plants and lay their eggs in them. Horntails are a special kind of wood-eating sawfly and their name comes from having a stout that is used to pierce through the bark and lay their eggs inside the wood.

Gallery

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