''Rhogogaster chlorosoma'' is a species of

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 ...

in the family

Tenthredinidae Tenthredinidae is the largest family of sawflies, with well over 7,500 species worldwide, divided into 430 genera. Larvae are herbivores and typically feed on the foliage of trees and shrubs, with occasional exceptions that are leaf miners, stem ...

Description

''Rhogogaster chlorosoma'' can reach a length of . It is one of the various green sawflies with a variable black pattern, but in this sawfly the black markings on the top of the abdomen are absent or quite reduced. Like other sawflies, this species lack the slender "wasp-waist" between the thorax and abdomen. Similar species are ''

Rhogogaster viridis ''Rhogogaster viridis'' is a species of common sawfly in the family Tenthredinidae. Taxonomy ''R. viridis'' was originally described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. Subsequent authors mistakenly applied the name to a separate and more common species, ...

'', that shows evident black marks on the upper surface of the abdomen and ''

Rhogogaster punctulata ''Rhogogaster punctulata'' is a species of sawfly in the family Tenthredinidae. Description ''Rhogogaster punctulata'' can reach a length of . Body and head are bright green. This sawfly bears on the head a black drawing in the form of the Greek ...

'', bearing black dots along the sides of the abdominal segments. Adults can mostly be encountered from May through July. They mainly feed on pollen and nectar of ''

Heracleum sphondylium ''Heracleum sphondylium'', commonly known as hogweed or common hogweed, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, which includes fennel, cow parsley, ground elder and Heracleum mantegazzianum, giant hogweed. It is native to m ...

'' as well as small insects. The nocturnal larvae are

polyphagous Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffixes -vore, -vory, or -vorous from Latin ''vorare'', meaning "to devour", or -phage, -phagy, or -phagous from Greek φαγε ...

, feeding on the leaves of a variety of woody and herbaceous plants, mainly

Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' ('' s.str.'') are commonly known as rowan or mountain-ash. The genus used to include species commonly known as whitebeam, cheque ...

, ''

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', the pedunculate oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It ...

'',

Salix Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

, ''

Corylus avellana ''Corylus avellana'', the common hazel, is a species of flowering plant in the birch tree, birch family Betulaceae. The shrubs usually grow tall. The nut is round, in contrast to the longer Corylus maxima, filbert nut. Common hazel is native to E ...

'',

Stellaria ''Stellaria'' is a genus of about 190 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution. Common names include starwort, stitchwort and chickweed. Description ''Stellaria'' species are relatively small ...

, ''

Filipendula ulmaria ''Filipendula ulmaria'', commonly known as meadowsweet or mead wort, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia (Near East and Middle East). It has ...

'', ''

Alnus glutinosa ''Alnus glutinosa'', the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family (biology), family Betulaceae, native plant, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. ...

'',

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. ...

and

Populus ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...

Distribution

It is widespread in most of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Habitat

This species prefers hedgerows and vegetated mountain areas.

References

Biolib

Fauna Europaea

Database of Insects and their Food Plants

External links

Nature Spot

Tenthredinidae Insects described in 1943 {{Sawfly-stub