Anaxyelidae

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Taxonomy

Superfamily: Anaxyleoidea
Family: Anaxyelidae
Family common name: incense cedar wood wasps
Subfamilies: Anaxyelinae, Dolichostigmatinae, Syntexinae

Background

The family Anaxyelidae is represented in North America by a single species, Syntexis libocedrii. This rare species has a small range and few host plants, and is known for an association with recently burned forest areas (Smith and Middlekauff 1987).

Diversity

Anaxyelidae includes only a single extant species, and it is Nearctic. The family includes 33 fossil species (Taeger et al. 2018).

North American genera

Syntexis

Diagnostic characteristics

• pronotum evenly sloped; not extremely constricted medially (Goulet 1992)
• body long, thin and cylindrical (Goulet 1992)
• propleuron short ventrally (Goulet 1992)
• first tergite divided medially (Goulet 1992)
• cornus not present; last tergite in female and last sternite in male rounded (Goulet 1992)
• fore tibia with 1 apical spur (Goulet 1992)
• cenchri present (Goulet 1992)

Host associations

Syntexis libocedrii is associated with species in the family Cupressaceae (Smith and Middlekauff 1987).

May be confused with

Anaxyelidae can be distinguished from other families by the present cenchri, lack of cornus, and long cylindrical body (Goulet 1992).

Life history

Syntexis libocedrii has been observed ovipositing into, and emerging from, recently burned trees following a forest fire. This appears to be a unique life history habit within sawflies (Smith and Middlekauff 1987).

Distribution

World: This family is known only from North America (Taeger et al. 2010).

North America: Syntexis occurs in California, Oregon, and British Columbia (Goulet 1992).