Paul WhitingtonJanuary 19, 2026Batch 6

Xyloperga halidaii vs. Xyloperga amenaida

Paul WhitingtonJanuary 19, 2026Batch 6

Xyloperga halidaii and Xyloperga amenaida are very similar in appearance.

The original descriptions of these species by Kirby (1882) and Westwood (1880) make it difficult to separate them confidently from field photographs.

On this page, I have detailed the morphology of a specimen of each species (species A and B), aiming to align features visible in field photographs with the original species descriptions.

Species A is a female collected by Marianne Brough (iNaturalist observation) at Belair SA on 11/2/26. It was found dead on a road. Antennae and some leg segments are missing, the mesonotum split but otherwise the insect is intact.

Featured

body length 13.7mm
all segments of all legs orange
lateral folds of tergites yellow, venter black
mesosternum black
genae, inner orbits, mandibles (except black tip), labrum yellow

right side of body
coloured body parts bright yellow
abdomen dorsum black, yellow laterally
all segments of all legs yellow
mesepisternum black with wide, transverse yellow stripe
genae narrower than eye viewed laterally

left side of body
mesepisternum black with wide, transverse yellow stripe
genae narrower than eye viewed laterally

vertex bright yellow with 3 wide, longitudinal black stripes which extend anteriorly to cover ocellar region
pronotum black with broad yellow hind border
mesoscutum black with orange patch near rear of middle lobe
abdomen dorsum black

scutellum semi-oval, convex, solid yellow with long obtuse orange hind lobes
fore wings pale yellow hyaline, costa and stigma orange, venation brown

vertex bright yellow with 3 wide, longitudinal black stripes which extend anteriorly to cover ocellar region
middle region of vertex punctuated?
antennal tubercles, inner orbits, clypeus and labrum yellow
clypeus emarginate

pronotum with broad yellow hind border
mesoscutum black with pale yellow spot towards rear of middle lobe
scutellum convex, solid yellow with obtuse long orange hind lobes

lateral view of saw and sheath

ventral view of saw and sheath

ventral view of saw, sheath and tergite IX after dissection from body and clearing in KOH
circular, brown cerci present on tips of tergite IX
ventral surface of sheath covered in stout dark brown bristles, arranged in rows. fine hairs extend from its lateral sides and end
the two sides of the saw visible between the sheath

dorsal view of saw, sheath and tergite IX dissected from body

ventral view of saw and sheath after removal of tergite IX
note that there is only one blade in this ovipositor, the lancet, which makes the cut in the surface of the leaf into which the eggs are deposited.
normally, the lancet is attached to and articulates with a second blade, the lance. the tip of the lance has a toothed edge along its upper surface and makes the first incision into the leaf.

ventral view of saw after removal of sheath

lateral view of saw, ventral side below

detail of end of saw

view further back along saw

view of base of saw

Species B is a female collected on 23/12/25 at Mt. Buller, Vic by James Peake (iNaturalist observation)

Featured

dorsal view of body
mesoscutum black with yellow V-mark at rear of middle lobe, interrupted at midline, heavily punctured, many long golden hairs medially
scutellum yellow, thickly punctured, covered in brown hairs, black furrow on anterior part of midline

ventral view of saw partially protruded from sheath

detail of distal region of saw

detail of more proximal region of saw

Paul Whitington