Perginae larva hub
Workbook
This page serves as a hub, providing background and links to a series of pages dealing with the identification of larvae in the subfamily Perginae.
In his ground breaking revision of adult sawflies in the genus Perga, Benson noted that “the larvae of very few species have been described at all, despite the very great interest that surrounds their colonial habits” (Benson, 1939).
Our knowledge of pergine larvae has progressed little in the intervening 86 years. There are very few published descriptions of the 57 species in the 8 genera of this subfamily.
Descriptions of insect larvae in general pose considerable challenges. As larvae typically have a simple body form, there are relatively few morphological characters available for taxonomic diagnoses. In addition, a larva often undergoes substantial changes in colour as it progresses through its various instars.
On this hub page, I describe the morphology of a generalised pergine larva - drawing on the few published descriptions.
Comparison of morphology of Perginae larvae - from Malagon-Aldana et al. (2021)
add matrix showing structural features that differ between Perga sp., Pergagrapta polita, Philomastix xanthophylax and Pterygophorus cinctus
References:
Malagon-Aldana, L.A., Shinohara, A., Smith, D.R. et al. (2021) Comparative anatomy of the larvae of argid sawflies (Hymenoptera: Argidae): a phylogenetic approach. Org. Divers. Evol. 21, 361–392.
Meyer-Rochow, V.B. (1972) Verständigungsweisen bei koloniebildenden Blattwespen- und Käfer-Larven. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 30: 451-455.
Meyer-Rochow, V.B. (1974) Structure and function of the larval eye of the sawfly, Perga (Hymenoptera). Journal of Insect Physiology 20: 1565-1591.
Schmidt, S., Walter, G.H., Grigg, J. & Moore, C.J. (2006). Sexual Communication and Host Plant Associations of Australian Pergid Sawflies (Hymenoptera, Symphyta, Pergidae). In Blank, S., Schmidt, S. & Taeger, A. (eds), Recent Sawfly Research: Synthesis and Prospects. Goecke & Evers, Keltern, pp.173-193.