Abia sericea, common name club horned sawfly or scabious sawfly, is a species of sawflies belonging to the family Cimbicidae.Biolib
Distribution and habitat This species can be found in most of European countries.Fauna Europaea It mainly occurs in wet meadows and forests, but its narrow habitat is restricted to the range of its host plant.
Description Abia sericea can reach a length of . The adults have a large body with a showy metallic green-golden or bronze abdomen. The thorax is black, with bluish sheen and it is slightly hairy. Wings are transparent, with brown markings in the middle. Antennae are yellow-reddish, while other species in this genus have totally or partially black antennae. Legs are yellow, with black thighs at their base.
Biology Adults can be seen from May to October feeding on nectar of Devil's-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis), of Ferulago galbanifera (syn. F. campestris) and of the giant fennel (Ferula communis).
Larva can reach a length of about . They have a sandy background colour with black and yellow spots. They are oligophagous, mainly feeding between June and September on Devil's-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis), Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis), cream scabious (Scabiosa ochroleuca ) and on various Dipsacus species.
References Nature Spot Charles Frederick Partington The British Encyclopædia of Natural History John Grearson Recording some easily-identified sawfly larvae in Wiltshire Harizanova V, Stoeva A, Rector B (2012) Host range testing and biology of Abia sericea (Cimbicidae), a candidate for biological control of invasive teasels (Dipsacus spp.) in North America. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 28: 1-11.
External links
Image of larva on Flickriver Galerie-insecte.org