Adelesta

Taxonomy

Family: Tenthredinidae
Family common name: common sawflies
Subfamily: Selandriinae
Tribe: Adelestini
Genus: Adelesta Ross, 1937

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 antennaeantenna:
the sensory organ emerging from the front of the head, usually between the compound eyes and above the clypeus; includes the flagellum, scape and pedicel
. Otherwise, they come in a variety of colors, sizes, and forms (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.).

Sawflies in the Selandriinae subfamily are relatively small and slender. The range of Selandriinae is worldwide; it occurs on all continents except Antarctica (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.). It is the most common and diverse group of tenthredinids in tropical regions, particularly in Central America, South America, and Southeast Asia (Smith 1969eSmith 1969e:
Smith DR. 1969e. Nearctic Sawflies. II. Selandriinae: Adults (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Technical Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1398: 1-48.). Selandriinae contains the only known sawflies that feed on non-vascular plants, specifically ferns (Smith et al. 2013Smith et al. 2013:
Smith DR, Janzen DH and Hallwachs W. 2013. Food plants and life histories of sawflies of the families Argidae and Tenthredinidae (Hymenoptera) in Costa Rica, a supplement. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 35: 17-31. https://doi.org/10.3897/JHR.35.5496). The subfamily can be distinguished from other subfamilies by wing venationvenation:
the network of veins on a wing
(Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.).

Adelesta is monotypicmonotypic:
describes having only one representative; ex. a genus that includes only one species
and is the only North American genus of its tribe, Adelestini (Smith and Naito 2015Smith and Naito 2015:
Smith DR and Naito T. 2015. Studies on Adelestini (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae), particularly the long-tongued Nipponorhynchus Takeuchi of Japan. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 45: 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3897/JHR.45.5442). Adelesta nova is small, about 4.5 mm in length, and mostly black with white on the legs and distinctive serrateserrate:
toothed; often describing the ovipositor saw or antennae
antennaeantenna:
the sensory organ emerging from the front of the head, usually between the compound eyes and above the clypeus; includes the flagellum, scape and pedicel
(Smith 1969eSmith 1969e:
Smith DR. 1969e. Nearctic Sawflies. II. Selandriinae: Adults (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Technical Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1398: 1-48.).

Diversity

There is a single described extantextant:
in existence; opposite of extinct
species in this genus worldwide, and it is North American (Taeger et al. 2010Taeger et al. 2010:
Taeger A, Blank SM, and Liston AD. 2010. World Catalog of Symphyta (Hymenoptera). Zootaxa 2580: 1-1064.).

Diagnostic characteristics

Subfamily characters

• fore wing fore wing:
  the anterior wing of each pair of wings; usually the largest wing of the pair
  vein Rs+M curved near intersection with veinvein:
  a tube-like, often darkened, structure on the wings
  Sc+R (Smith 1969eSmith 1969e:
  Smith DR. 1969e. Nearctic Sawflies. II. Selandriinae: Adults (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Technical Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1398: 1-48.)
• fore wing fore wing:
  the anterior wing of each pair of wings; usually the largest wing of the pair
  vein M meeting Sc+R basalbasal:
  towards the base; closest to the body
  to intersection of Rs+M and Sc+R (Smith 1969eSmith 1969e:
  Smith DR. 1969e. Nearctic Sawflies. II. Selandriinae: Adults (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Technical Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1398: 1-48.)
• fore wing fore wing:
  the anterior wing of each pair of wings; usually the largest wing of the pair
  veins M and m-cu about parallel (Smith 1969eSmith 1969e:
  Smith DR. 1969e. Nearctic Sawflies. II. Selandriinae: Adults (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Technical Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1398: 1-48.)
• fore wing fore wing:
  the anterior wing of each pair of wings; usually the largest wing of the pair
  vein 2r-m present (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
  Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.)

Genus characters

• tridentate mandibles (Smith and Naito 2015Smith and Naito 2015:
  Smith DR and Naito T. 2015. Studies on Adelestini (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae), particularly the long-tongued Nipponorhynchus Takeuchi of Japan. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 45: 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3897/JHR.45.5442)
• clypeus clypeus:
  sclerotized area on the front of the head located between the antennal insertions and labrum
  margin straight (Smith 1969eSmith 1969e:
  Smith DR. 1969e. Nearctic Sawflies. II. Selandriinae: Adults (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Technical Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1398: 1-48.)
• malar space malar space:
  the minimum distance between the base of the mandible and the ventral margin of the compound eye
  length about equal to the diameter of the front ocellusocellus:
  a simple bead-like eye, often on the dorsum of the head in groups of 1-3
  (Smith 1969eSmith 1969e:
  Smith DR. 1969e. Nearctic Sawflies. II. Selandriinae: Adults (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Technical Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1398: 1-48.)
• occipital ridge absent (Smith 1969eSmith 1969e:
  Smith DR. 1969e. Nearctic Sawflies. II. Selandriinae: Adults (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Technical Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1398: 1-48.)
• antenna antenna:
  the sensory organ emerging from the front of the head, usually between the compound eyes and above the clypeus; includes the flagellum, scape and pedicel
  with 7 flagellomeres (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
  Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.)
• antennal segments slightly expanded apically; antennaantenna:
  the sensory organ emerging from the front of the head, usually between the compound eyes and above the clypeus; includes the flagellum, scape and pedicel
  sometimes appears somewhat serrateserrate:
  toothed; often describing the ovipositor saw or antennae
  (Smith 1969eSmith 1969e:
  Smith DR. 1969e. Nearctic Sawflies. II. Selandriinae: Adults (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Technical Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1398: 1-48.)
• pedicel pedicel:
  the second antennal segment, between the scape and flagellum
  as long as wide (Smith 1969bSmith 1969b:
  Smith DR. 1969b. The genus Susana Rohwer and Middleton (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 71(1): 13-23.)
• fore wing fore wing:
  the anterior wing of each pair of wings; usually the largest wing of the pair
  anal crossveinanal crossvein:
  a crossvein that goes through the center of the basal anal cell
  present, located at about the middle of the anal cellanal cell:
  cell A of either the fore wing or hind wing
  (Smith 1969eSmith 1969e:
  Smith DR. 1969e. Nearctic Sawflies. II. Selandriinae: Adults (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Technical Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1398: 1-48.)
• intersection of veins M and M+Cu1 widely separated from intersection M and cu-a (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
  Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.)
• tarsal claw tarsal claw:
  sharpened appendage emerging from the apex of the tarsus
  simple (Smith 1969eSmith 1969e:
  Smith DR. 1969e. Nearctic Sawflies. II. Selandriinae: Adults (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Technical Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1398: 1-48.)
• epicnemium epicnemium:
  the anterior area of the mesepisternum
  absent (Smith and Naito 2015Smith and Naito 2015:
  Smith DR and Naito T. 2015. Studies on Adelestini (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae), particularly the long-tongued Nipponorhynchus Takeuchi of Japan. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 45: 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3897/JHR.45.5442)
• tergite tergite:
  a sclerotized segment of the tergum
  1 narrow medially, membranous area large (Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
  Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.)

May be confused with

Adelesta can be confused with similar species in the subfamily Selandriinae. It can be distinguished from most other genera by the almost serrateserrate:
toothed; often describing the ovipositor saw or antennae
antennaeantenna:
the sensory organ emerging from the front of the head, usually between the compound eyes and above the clypeus; includes the flagellum, scape and pedicel
, centered anal crossveinanal crossvein:
a crossvein that goes through the center of the basal anal cell
in the fore wingfore wing:
the anterior wing of each pair of wings; usually the largest wing of the pair
, and the constricted first tergitetergite:
a sclerotized segment of the tergum
(Smith 1969eSmith 1969e:
Smith DR. 1969e. Nearctic Sawflies. II. Selandriinae: Adults (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Technical Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1398: 1-48., Goulet 1992Goulet 1992:
Goulet H. 1992. The genera and subgenera of the sawflies of Canada and Alaska: Hymenoptera. Symphyta. The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 20. Agriculture Canada Publication.).

Exotic pest species of concern

none

Host associations

unknown

Life history

unknown

Distribution

World: This genus is North American (Taeger et al. 2010Taeger et al. 2010:
Taeger A, Blank SM, and Liston AD. 2010. World Catalog of Symphyta (Hymenoptera). Zootaxa 2580: 1-1064.).

North America: Adelesta nova occurs in eastern Canada with records in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec (Smith 1969eSmith 1969e:
Smith DR. 1969e. Nearctic Sawflies. II. Selandriinae: Adults (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). Technical Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1398: 1-48.). There are some records farther south in the Appalachian Mountains (Smith 2008bSmith 2008b:
Smith DR. 2008b. Sawflies and woodwasps (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 110 (2): 379-390.).

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

Details about data used for maps can be found here.