Horntail

Horntails
Eriotremex formosanus, Blount County, Tennessee
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Superfamily: Siricoidea
Family: Siricidae
Subfamilies and genera

See text

Horntail or wood wasp are any of the 150 non-social species of the hymenopteran family Siricidae, a type of wood-eating sawfly. The common name "horntail" derives from the stout, spine-like structure at the end of the adult's abdomen which is present in both sexes. The ovipositor in females is typically longer and also projects posteriorly, but it is not the source of the name. Though they are not wasps, they are sometimes called wood wasps as the appearance of some species resembles one due to mimicry.[1] A typical adult horntail is brown, blue, or black with yellow or red parts, and may often reach up to 4 cm (1.6 in) long. The pigeon horntail (Tremex columba) can grow up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long (not counting the ovipositor), among the longest of all Hymenoptera.

This family was formerly believed to be the sole living representative of the superfamily Siricoidea, a group well represented in Paleogene and Mesozoic times, but the family Anaxyelidae has been linked to this group as well. Siricidae has two subfamilies, Siricinae and Tremecinae. Siricinae infest needle-leaved trees[2] and Tremecinae infest broad-leaved trees.[2][3] There are ten[2] living genera placed in the family, and an additional three genera described from fossils.[4][5]

Female horntails lay their eggs in trees. The larvae bore into the wood and live in the tree for up to two years, possibly more. They typically migrate to just under the bark before pupation.

  1. ^ "Sawflies & Wood Wasps". www.wlgf.org. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  2. ^ a b c Schiff, N. M.; Goulet, H.; Smith, D. R.; Boudreault, C.; Wilson, A. D.; Scheffler, B. E. (2012). "Siricidae (Hymenoptera: Symphyta: Siricoidea) of the western hemisphere". Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification. 21. doi:10.3752/cjai.2012.21.
  3. ^ Kuramitsu, Kazumu; Kosaki, Atsuya; Ishihara, Teruhito; Yamada, Hideo; Watanabe, Kyohei (2016-10-28). "Infestation of the woodwasp Tremex apicalis Matsumura (Hymenoptera, Siricidae) on the large-leaf dogwood Swida macrophylla (Wall.) with biological notes on its parasitoid wasps". Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 52: 71–79. doi:10.3897/jhr.52.10060. ISSN 1314-2607.
  4. ^ Wedmann, S.; Pouillon, J. M.; Nel, A. (2014). "New Palaeogene horntail wasps (Hymenoptera, Siricidae) and a discussion of their fossil record". Zootaxa. 3869 (1): 33–43. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3869.1.3. PMID 25283896.
  5. ^ Archibald, S.B.; Rasnitsyn, A.P. (2015). "New early Eocene Siricomorpha (Hymenoptera: Symphyta: Pamphiliidae, Siricidae, Cephidae) from the Okanagan Highlands, western North America". The Canadian Entomologist. 148 (2): 209–228. doi:10.4039/tce.2015.55. S2CID 85743832.