Arge cyanocrocea
| Arge cyanocrocea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Argidae |
| Genus: | Arge (genus) |
| Species: | A. cyanocrocea |
| Binomial name | |
| Arge cyanocrocea (Förster, 1771) | |
Arge cyanocrocea, the bramble sawfly, is a species belonging to the family Argidae subfamily Arginae.
As all sawflies, these species are related to wasps and not to flies, but lack the typical wasp waist. Its head and thorax are black, while the abdomen is yellowish orange.
Arge cyanocrocea can be distinguished from the similar Arge pagana by its dark wing patches and gray apex of wings and by its reddish legs, with small black rings.
These sawflies are present in most of Europe, in the Caucasus, in Asia Minor and in Japan.
The adults grow up to 7–8 millimetres (0.28–0.31 in) long and can be encountered from May to July, feeding on pollen and nectar of several Apiaceae species (Aegopodium podagraria, Meum athamanticum, Heracleum sphondylium, etc.), Euphorbiaceae species (Euphorbia spp.) and Asteraceae species (Tanacetum vulgare)
The larvae of this species look like caterpillars, but they have five pairs of prolegs, while caterpillars have four pairs. The larvae feed on the leaves of brambles (hence the common name), mainly blackberry (Rubus fruticosus), raspberry (Rubus idaeus) and great burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis).