Sirex juvencus
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Sirex juvencus (Linnaeus, 1758) - (polished horntail)
This species of wood wasp is found in Europe as well as in temperate parts of North America and Asia (Gao & Shi, 2021). The horntail can cause outbreaks in Europe, killing pine trees. However, it mainly attacks weakened trees and felled tree trunks. The female drills holes through the phloem into the xylem. Eggs, the mutualistic fungus, Amylostereum areolatum, and a phytotoxin are deposited into the holes. The fungus only grows in combination with the phytotoxin and serves as food for the wasp larvae. The development from egg to adult wasp take one to several years. There are 2 subspecies which differ in colouration.
| Vernacular names | |
|---|---|
| • Deutsch: | Gemeine Holzwespe |
| • English: | polished horntail |
| • Español: | sírice azul |
| • Français: | bouvillon sirex commun |
The adult wasps are around 20-25 mm long with males being smaller than females. The basic colour is a dark metallic blue, with the antennal base being reddish to brown. There are differences in the colouration of the legs and abdomen, depending on the subspecies and the sex (Schiff et al., 2006). The legs of females are reddish in Sirex juvencus juvencus, but dark blue to black in Sirex juvencus californicus. In males of S. j. juvencus the abdominal segments 4-7 are yellowish and the hind legs are black with the femura being reddish. In males of S. j. californicus only the base of the abdomen is blueish-black with the remaining parts being reddish, while the hind legs are all reddish.
- Other images of Sirex juvencus (IPM Images and PaDIL - click to enlarge)
female
male
female
male
