Introduced Pine Sawfly

The adult male is between 7 and 9 mm (0.28 and 0.35 in) in length, black apart from the underside of the abdomen which is sometimes reddish-brown. Antennae are black and bipectinate (feather-like), and legs are yellow except for the trochanters and the base of the femora which are brownish-black. The female is between 7.5 and 10 mm (0.3 and 0.4 in) long, with a black head and thorax and usually a yellow and black abdomen, although some individuals are dark. Antennae are black and serrate (saw-like), and legs are yellow with dusky bases. Larvae have black heads and resemble the caterpillars of lepidopterans. Females have six instars and males have five. The first three instars are yellowish-green, and the later instars have black longitudinal stripes with patches of yellow and white on a bluish and black background.

D. similis is native to central and northern Europe (including Fennoscandia), Russian Siberia (as far as the Lake Baikal region), and China. It was first detected in North America in 1914 in Connecticut and has since spread to much of the eastern United States and Canada, wherever Pinus strobus is to be found. It feeds on other species of pine, but seems to favour P. strobus where it is available.

Diprion similis is arrhenotokous, that is it exhibits a form of parthenogenesis in which unfertilized eggs develop into male offspring. Fertilised eggs develop in the normal way into male and female offspring, n = 14 for haploid males and 2n = 28 for diploid females. Adults emerge in spring or later in the year and are active for most of the summer. The female makes a slit in a pine needle with her ovipositor and lays about ten eggs. Unmated females can lay viable eggs and these develop into male offspring. Newly hatched larvae are gregarious but later stages live independently. They feed on the needles of the pine until ready to pupate. The first generation spin cocoon in July and emerge in August. The second generation tends to drop to the ground and spend the winter in a cocoon as a prepupa, pupating in the spring. Some may remain in a prepupal state for a longer period of up to three years. Sawflies such as this species that have been introduced into North America have found little competition from native sawfly species and become invasive pests. They have few predators or parasites in the New World and their parthenogenetic abilities have allowed them to thrive. Sawflies employ pheromones to attract the opposite sex and facilitate breeding. It has been found that the pheromone emitted by D. …