Deda

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Taxonomy

Family: Tenthredinidae
Family common name: common sawflies
Subfamily: Tenthredininae
Tribe: none
Genus: Deda Gibson, 1980
Subgenera: none

Background

The Tenthredinidae are the most species-rich family and are found throughout the world, in all continents but Antarctica. They are known as the “common sawflies.” They can generally be recognized by a cylindrical body and long, segmented antennae. Otherwise, they come in a variety of colors, sizes, and forms (Goulet 1992).

Sawflies in the Tenthredininae subfamily are relatively large in the family, often with distinct colorful markings. Some are wasp-like with black and yellow stripes (Goulet 1992). Many species’ life histories are not known. Some Tenthredininae species feed uniquely, as adults, on flower pollen and other insects (Smith 1993). They can be distinguished from other subfamilies by wing venation (Goulet 1992).

Deda is a North American genus of few species, mostly black and white in color, about 6–10 mm in length (Gibson 1980a).

Diversity

There are three described extant species worldwide. All are restricted to North America (Taeger et al. 2010).

A key to species is included in Gibson 1980a.

Diagnostic characteristics

Subfamily characters

• fore wing vein M and 1m-cu parallel (Goulet 1992)
• fore wing vein R bent at base of vein Sc (Goulet 1992)
• metepimeron separated from metepisternum by distinct furrow (Goulet 1992)

Genus characters

• labrum longer than medial length of the clypeus (Gibson 1980a)
• compound eye relatively small; face between eyes visible in lateral view (Gibson 1980a)
• occipital ridge present from mandible to top of compound eye (Gibson 1980a)
• fore wing vein 2A+3A complete, connected to 1A by crossvein (Goulet 1992)
• fore wing anal crossvein short and close to perpendicular (Goulet 1992)
• fore wing vein 2r present (Goulet 1992)
• fore wing vein M intersecting Sc+R basal to the intersection of Sc+R and Rs+M (Goulet 1992)
• angle of fore wing veins 1m-cu and Cu1 120°–150° (Goulet 1992)
• fore wing anal crossvein located in central portion of the anal cell; anal veins appearing fused for a short distance (Gibson 1980a)
• metepimeron distinctly angled on lower posterior corner (Gibson 1980a)
• hind tibia about as long or slightly longer than the femur and trochanter (Gibson 1980a)
• tarsal claw bifid (Gibson 1980a)
• hind basitarsus less than half as long as the hind tibia and about equal to remaining tarsomeres (Gibson 1980a)

May be confused with

Deda can be confused with similar species in the subfamily Tenthredininae. It can be distinguished from most other genera by the expanded metepimeron, long labrum, and the centered anal crossvein. Deda can be distinguished from closely related Macrophya by the relative length of the hind leg segments and by the size of the eye as viewed from the side (Gibson 1980a).

Exotic pest species of concern

none

Host associations

The hosts of Deda are unknown, but there is a single collection of an adult on Cynopterus terebinthinus (turpentine wavewing) (Gibson 1980a).

Life history

unknown

Distribution

World: The genus is present in North America (Taeger et al. 2010).

North America: Deda occurs in western United States, with records from California, Oregon, and Nevada (Gibson 1980a).

Map data from: GBIF.org (29 October 2019) GBIF Occurrence Download Deda and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Entomology Collection (USNM) and the Oregon State Arthropod Collection (OSAC)

Details about data used for maps can be found here.