Introduction
Sawflies are closely related to bees, wasps and ants - all are in the Hymenoptera family. Sawflies can generally be distinguished from bees and wasps by the lack of a 'waist'. There are around 600 UK species, some large and colourful, others tiny and obscure. A number are known to gardeners as some sawfly larvae feed on common garden plants such as Berberis, Geranium and Solomon's Seal.
Leicestershire and Rutland Resources
A checklist of sawflies species recorded in VC55
Keys and Identification Help
British and Irish Sawflies Facebook Group - very useful site to post images for speedy identification help
British Sawflies - Adam Wright. An Aidgap key to the genera of UK sawflies.
Royal Entomological Society Keys by Benson
Mike Hackston’s insect keys: Symphyta
Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera - Sawflies, "Symphyta" by Liston et al
Other Useful Websites and Publications
There isn't currently a popular field guide to sawflies which is probably why they are generally under-recorded.
Online
British Sawflies website - an excellent and expanding resource covering most UK species
ID Guide to Tenthredo Species - a detailed guide to the identification of UK Tenthredo sawflies from the Natural History Musem (free download)
A Beginners Guide to Sawflies - a useful photographic guide to the families, larvae and pest species (free download)
Steven Falk’s Flickr sawfly collection
Tanyptera Project video: Introduction to UK Sawflies
Status of British Sawflies - video
A Review of the Status of the Sawflies of Great Britain - report
Printed
If you know of other websites or books that you would recommend, do let us know: info@naturespot.co.uk
Recording Schemes
As with all records, any submissions you make to NatureSpot will be automatically forwarded to both local and national recording schemes.
Visit our County Recorders page to find out who is the CR in VC55 (Leicestershire and Rutland).