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Sawflies of Zihuatanejo

FAMILY AGRIDAE

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies (Order Hymenoptera)

-Sawflies, Horntails, and Wood Wasps (Suborder Symphyta)

-Typical Sawflies (Superfamily Tenthredinoidea)

-Argid Sawflies (Family Argidae)

-Subfamily Sterictiphorinae

-Genus Schizocerella

-Purslane Sawfly (Schizocerella pilicornis)


Unlike other hymenopterans, sawflies have larvae that resemble the caterpillars of moths and butterflies, but the larvae typically have more than 5 pairs of prolegs. Sawflies are so named due to the saw like ovipositor that the females use to cut open plant tissue where she will lay her eggs. Sawflies are herbivorous and known for their caterpillar-like larvae that often feed on plants.

Purslane Sawfly

Schizocerella pilicornis

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