''Arge similis'', common name azalea argid sawfly, is an insect

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

from the family

Argidae Argidae, commonly known as the argid sawflies, is a large family of sawflies, containing some 800 species worldwide, primarily in tropical regions. The larvae are phytophagous, and commonly can be found feeding (and often pupating) in groups, tho ...

. The species was originally described by

Samuel Constantinus Snellen van Vollenhoven Samuel Constant Snellen van Vollenhoven (18 October 1816, Rotterdam – 22 March 1880) was a Dutch entomologist. He is not to be confused with Pieter Cornelius Tobias Snellen another entomologist from Rotterdam. He was curator of the entomologic ...

Anatomy

''A. similis'' is a solitary and

phytophagous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet (nutrition), diet. These more broadly also encompass an ...

sawfly Sawflies are wasp-like insects that are in 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 plant ...

. This stale-blue sawfly has a length about 10 millimetres, with a hairy head. It has a dark-blue colour and its head is covered with short hair. Its face has two grooves on both sides, with a protruding comb in between. This comb divides in two at the end. The wings are brownish black, with blueish-black veins. The wings are without dots, which distinguishes it from its look-a-like, '' Cibdela janthina''. The species was described from four female samples which are part of the collection of the

Natural History Museum, Leiden Naturalis Biodiversity Center () is a national museum of natural history and a research center on biodiversity in Leiden, Netherlands. It was named the European Museum of the Year 2021. Although its current name and organization are relatively ...

and collected by

Philipp Franz von Siebold Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold (17 February 1796 – 18 October 1866) was a German physician, botanist and traveller. He achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora (plants), flora and fauna (animals), fauna and the introduction of ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

References

Argidae Hymenoptera of Asia Taxa named by Samuel Constantinus Snellen van Vollenhoven Insects described in 1860 {{sawfly-stub