Pseudoperga species identification — Life in a Southern Forest

Workbook

Note: This is a “work in progress”. Changes may be made as I discover additional relevant information.

Identification of species in genus Pseudoperga

The matrix below is designed to aid identification of species in the genus Pseudoperga, which has the following diagnostic features:

antennae 6-segmented
antennae shorter than distance between eyes
length of head behind eye same or greater than length of eye
hind lobes of scutellum normally very short, rarely projecting beyond hind margin

Click on the matrix to download a pdf version. Images from authoritative sources of selected species follow as a further aid.

Pseudoperga belinda = Pseudoperga nemoralis

female - Kirby (1882) Pl.ii, Fig.3

female - dorsal view

Pseudoperga ferruginea

antenna and fore wing - Leach (1817) Tab.148, Fig.4

Pseudoperga guerinii = Pseudoperga smithii

female P. smithii - Westwood (1880) Pl.36, Fig.6

male P. guerinii - Westwood (1880) Pl.35, Fig.1

P. guerinii protecting clutch

Pseudoperga lewisii

female P. lewisii - Westwood (1842) Pl.7, Fig.1

scutellum - Benson (1939) Fig.15

References:

Benson, R.B. 1939. A revision of the Australian sawflies of the genus Perga Leach, sens. lat. (Hymenoptera, Symphyta). The Australian Zoologist 9: 324-357.
Forsius, R. 1927 On some sawflies from the Australian region (Hymenoptera Tenthredinidae). Records of South Australian Museum 3, 283-308
Forsius, R. 1929a Notes on some little known Australian Tenthredinoidea. Notulae Entomologicae 9, 81-82
Forsius, R. 1929b Perga titschacki, eine neue australische Tenthredinoide. Notulae Entomologicae 9, 85-86
Guérin-Méneville, F.É. 1844. Iconographie du règne animal de G. Cuvier, ou représentation d'après nature de l'une des espèces les plus remarquables et souvent non figurées de chaque genre d'animaux. Avec un texte descriptif mis au courant de la science. Ouvrage pouvant servir d'atlas a tous les traités de zoologie. VII. Insectes.
Kirby, W.F. 1882. List of Hymenoptera, with descriptions and figures of the typical specimens in the British Museum. Vol. I. Tenthredinidae and Siricidae. London: British Museum
Leach, W.E. 1817. The zoological miscellany; being descriptions of new, or interesting animals. Vol. 3. Shoe-Lane, London: R. and A. Taylor
Lewis, R.H. 1837. Case of maternal attendance on the larva by an insect of the tribe of Terebrantia, belonging to the genus Perga, observed at Hobarton, Tasmania. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 1: 232-234.
Morice, F.D. 1919. Notes on Australian sawflies, especially the “Authors' Types” and other specimens in the British Museum of Natural History and the Hope Collections of the Oxford University Museum; with diagnostic synopses of the genera and species, and photographs illustrating their structural characters. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 66: 247-333, pls XI-XV.
Rohwer, S.A. 1910. Some Australian sawflies. Entomological News 21: 467-474
Westwood, J.O. 1880. A monograph of the sawflies composing the Australian genus Perga of Leach. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1880: 359-379
Wilson, F.E. 1932a. A new Victorian sawfly. Victorian Naturalist (Melbourne) 49: 43-46.

This is a workbook page … a part of our website where we record the observations and references used in making species identifications. The notes will not necessarily be complete. They are a record for our own use, but we are happy to share this information with others.