Paul WhitingtonApril 24, 2026batch 7

Pseudoperga lewisii (PERGINAE)

Paul WhitingtonApril 24, 2026batch 7

Workbook

This notes page shows detailed images of specimens of an adult female Pseudoperga lewisii, collected in the field by two iNaturalists:
Jenny Emeny at her property at Cudgee, near Warrnambool, VIC (see this iNaturalist observation)
James Peake near Frankston North, VIC (see this iNaturalist observation).

Many thanks to Jenny and James for donating these specimens for analysis.

Notes accompanying these images were taken from Westwood (1836, 1880) and Benson (1939) as well as iNaturalist observations. The latter reveal variation in features which were not apparent in the small number of type specimens used for the original descriptions.

Female from Jenny Emeny, Cudgee VIC

Featured

female, #PW108

iNaturalist observation - @jemeny
- female above dark yellow-orange
- antenna pale (can be partially dark but never solid black)
- head and thorax above with a dark line on each side (head line not evident in this specimen)
- head large, quadrate, nearly equalling thorax in breadth
- stigma large

female, #PW108

iNaturalist observation - @jemeny
- body yellow below
- mid and hind legs (only hind legs here) with apex of tibia, apex of first joint and nearly the whole of the subsequent joints of tarsi black
- stigma large, almost linear and narrow
- dorsum of abdomen uniformly yellow-orange, lacking dark marks
- white blotches on lateral edges of all terga

female, #PW108

Dorsal habitus view of pinned insect
- head large, quadrate, nearly equalling thorax in breadth
- forewings pale yellow hyaline
- stigma large, almost linear and narrow

female, #PW108

- furrows separating anterior and lateral lobes of mesoscutum barely evident
- scutellum anteriorly rounded; hind lobes obliquely truncated, short

female, #PW108

upper part of head without any shining interspaces among punctures, densely pilose

female, #PW108

- upper part of head without any shining interspaces among punctures, densely pilose
- clypeus very wrinkled

female, #PW108

- antenna clavate; club longer than preceding 3 segments; first joint subglobular; second shortest; third, fourth and fifth cylindric, and of equal length; sixth large, elongate, ovate, and longer than the 3 preceding joints taken together
- longer than front margin of clypeus (1.9mm vs 1.6mm), longer than distance between insertions (1.9mm vs 1.3mm), not longer than head (1.9mm vs. 2.4mm)

female, #PW108

- mid and hind legs (only hind legs here) with apex of tibia, apex of first joint and nearly the whole of the subsequent joints of tarsi black

female, #PW108

- pronotum indented on posterior border
- mesopleurae at least in middle densely, regularly punctured

female, #PW108

dorsal view of genitalia dissected from abdomen showing lance (below) and lancet (above)

female, #PW108

genitalia dissected from abdomen, showing lance and pair of lancets

female, #PW108

pair of lancets

female, #PW108

apical half of lancet

female, #PW108

basal half of lancets

female, #PW108

lance - lateral view

female, #PW108

lance - dorsal view

female, #PW108

apical region of a lancet with teeth

female, #PW108

tip of lancet

female, #PW108

mid part of lancet

female, #PW108

single tooth (serrula) in mid region of lancet
- compare to following image from Morice (1919)

female, #PW108

photomicrograph of saw of Pseudoperga lewisii - Morice (1919) Pl. 14, Fig. 13

female, #PW108

Female from James Peake, North Frankston VIC

Pseudoperga lewisii

female, #PW113

iNaturalist observation - @jimbobo
- body above and below orange
- antenna reddish-brown, club black (not solid black)
- head and thorax above with a dark line on each side
- dorsum of abdomen uniformly yellow-orange, lacking dark marks
- white blotches on lateral edges of all terga
- all legs orange, hind legs with apex of tibia and all tarsomeres black
- stigma large, almost linear and narrow

female, #PW113

iNaturalist observation - @jimbobo
- body above orange
- antenna reddish-brown, tip of club black (not solid black)
- head and thorax above with a dark line on each side
- white blotches on lateral edges of all terga
- all legs orange, hind legs with apex of tibia and all tarsomeres black

female, #PW113

dorsal view, pinned euthanised insect
- forewings pale yellow hyaline; stigma large, almost linear and narrow
- head large, quadrate, nearly equalling thorax in breadth

female, #PW113

body length 14.8mm
- head and thorax above with a dark line on each side
- head large, quadrate, nearly equalling thorax in breadth
- furrows separating anterior and lateral lobes of mesoscutum shallow
- upper part of head without any shining interspaces among punctures
- scutellum anteriorly rounded; hind lobes obliquely truncated, short
- dorsum of abdomen dark brown

female, #PW113

body length 15.2 mm
- pronotum indented on posterior border
- mesopleurae at least in middle densely, regularly punctured
- mid and hind legs (only hind legs shown here) with apex of tibia, apex of all joints of tarsi black

female, #PW113

habitus, ventral view, body length 14.3mm
- body yellow-orange below
- hind legs with apex of tibia, apex of first joint and nearly the whole of the subsequent joints of tarsi black
- all other legs, orange in all segments
- labial, maxillary palps yellow
- base of mandibles orange

female, #PW113

- upper part of head without any shining interspaces among punctures
- antenna clavate; first joint subglobular; second shortest; third, fourth and fifth cylindric, and of equal length; sixth (club) large, elongate, ovate, and longer than the 3 preceding joints taken together
- longer than front margin of clypeus, longer than distance between insertions, not longer than head

female, #PW113

- furrows separating anterior and lateral lobes of mesoscutum clearly present but shallow
- scutellum anteriorly rounded; hind lobes obliquely truncated, short

female, #PW113

frontal view
- upper part of head without any shining interspaces among punctures
- clypeus, labrum, base of mandibles orange
- clypeus wrinkled, broadly emarginate
- anterior border of labrum pilose

female, #PW113

lateral view head
- vertex densely punctured and pilose
- genae unpunctured and glabrous
- lateral edge of clypeus, labrum and base of mandibles pilose

female, #PW113

lateral view thorax
- pronotum indented on posterior border
- mesopleurae densely, regularly punctured throughout
- pronotum, tegula, mesopleurae orange
- pronotum, mesoscutum, scutellum densely pilose on dorsal surface

female, #PW113

lateral view of posterior half of abdomen
- abdomen uniformly brown dorsally, laterally and ventrally
- sawsheath with hairs spaced widely apart, tips hooked

female, #PW113

ventral view of posterior abdomen
- scattered hairs of saw sheath, longer towards end of abdomen
- saw not visible (apart from tip)

female, #PW113

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.

Westwood, J.O. (1836) P. 234 in postscript to Lewis, R.H., 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.

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.

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.

Paul Whitington