Anaxyelidae

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 1987Smith and Middlekauff 1987:
Smith DR and Middlekauff WW. 1987. Suborder Symphyta. In: Stehr FW ed. Immature Insects. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. Vol. 1: 754 pp.).

Diversity

Anaxyelidae includes only a single extantextant:
in existence; opposite of extinct
species, and it is NearcticNearctic:
describing the region of the Northern Hemisphere that includes North America south through northern Mexico
. The family includes 33 fossil species (Taeger et al. 2018Taeger et al. 2018:
Taeger A, Liston AD, Prous M, Groll EK, Gehroldt T, and Blank SM. 2018. ECatSymmdash;Electronic World Catalog of Symphyta (Insecta, Hymenoptera). Program version 5.0 (19 Dec 2018), data version 40 (23 Sep 2018). Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut (SDEI), Muuml;ncheberg. https://sdei.de/ecatsym/ Accessed: 28 Jan 2020.).

North American genera

Syntexis

Diagnostic characteristics

• pronotum pronotum:
  the anterodorsal part of the thorax, often situated posterior to the head
  evenly sloped; not extremely constricted medially (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.)
• body long, thin and cylindrical (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.)
• propleuron propleuron:
  a lateral sclerite located between the pronotum and episternum near the anterior of the body
  short ventrally (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.)
• first tergitetergite:
  a sclerotized segment of the tergum
  divided medially (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.)
• cornus cornus:
  a pointed horn-like process on the apical end of the abdomen in Siricidae sawflies; on tergite 10 in females, sternite 9 in males
  not present; last tergitetergite:
  a sclerotized segment of the tergum
  in female and last sternitesternite:
  a sclerotized segment of the abdominal sternum
  in male rounded (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.)
• fore tibia fore tibia:
  the tibia of the fore leg
  with 1 apicalapical:
  towards the apex; farthest away from the body
  spur (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.)
• cenchri 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.)

Host associations

Syntexis libocedrii is associated with species in the family Cupressaceae (Smith and Middlekauff 1987Smith and Middlekauff 1987:
Smith DR and Middlekauff WW. 1987. Suborder Symphyta. In: Stehr FW ed. Immature Insects. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. Vol. 1: 754 pp.).

May be confused with

Anaxyelidae can be distinguished from other families by the present cenchricenchrus:
a sclerotized eliptical lobe on the metascutum used to provide friction with underside of wings to hold them in place on the dorsum of the body while in rest
, lack of cornuscornus:
a pointed horn-like process on the apical end of the abdomen in Siricidae sawflies; on tergite 10 in females, sternite 9 in males
, and long cylindrical body (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.).

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 1987Smith and Middlekauff 1987:
Smith DR and Middlekauff WW. 1987. Suborder Symphyta. In: Stehr FW ed. Immature Insects. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. Vol. 1: 754 pp.).

Distribution

World: This family is known only from North America (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: Syntexis occurs in California, Oregon, and British Columbia (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.).