Page last updated 10th Feb 2021
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| Arge melanochra, Two Mile Bottom (Andy Musgrove) |
Genus Arge
Arge berberidis
Sawfly website; Steven Falk photos
A fairly recent colonist, first noted in Britain in 2002 and in Norfolk from 2009. The species has been recorded widely across the county, in part thanks to a survey of the species (as a pest on garden Berberis) by the RHS. There has also been a good scatter of more traditional records in recent years however.
Flight period: 28th May to 24th August, with July being the peak month.
Arge ciliaris
Sawfly website; Steven Falk photos
A local species found in damper habitats, with the larvae feeding on Meadowsweet.
Flight period: 21st May to 6th August
19th century: no records.
20th century: Catfield (Fen presumably), Thompson Common, Wheatfen, Booton Common, Woodbastwick Fen
21st century: Shotesham Common
Arge cyanocrocea
Sawfly website; Steven Falk photos
Now widespread, but seemed to go missing for most of the 20th century, a striking absence for what can be a relatively conspicuous species on umbellifer flower-heads in summer.
Flight period: 2nd May to 30th June, peaking mid May to early June.
19th century: Norwich (noted as 'common'), Wroxham and Strumpshaw
20th century: noted as scarce in King's Lynn area pre-1909; records again from 1985 onwards from Thompson Common, Beeston Common, Aylmerton and Buxton Heath
21st century: recorded again from 2007, and in recent years reasonably common and widespread.
[Arge enodis]
[A willow-feeding species that appears to be very local in Britain, no Norfolk records so far.]
[Arge expansa]
[A northern species in Scotland and Ireland, no Norfolk records]
Arge fuscipes
Sawfly website; Steven Falk photos
Just a single record to date, two males at Winterton Dunes on 24th May 1991.
Arge gracilicornis
Sawfly website; Steven Falk photos
Potentially widespread at low density, larvae feed on raspberry. Seems to be a concentration on wetland sites, or maybe just 'good' nature reserve type sites?
Flight period: 22nd May to 20th August
19th century: no records
20th century: King's Lynn, Mundford, West Harling, Titchwell, East Dereham, Scarning Fen, Thetford Forest, Witton, Aylmerton, Beeston Common, Thompson Common
21st century: singles from Beeston Common in 2001,from Alderfen Broad and Horsey Corner in 2017, and Bergh Apton Nature Reserve in 2020.
Arge melanochra
Sawfly website; Steven Falk photos
Now appears quite widespread, albeit perhaps a little less so than the similar A. cyanocrocea. Also regularly encountered on umbellifer heads.
Flight period: 15th May to 14th July, mostly in June and a little later on average than A. cyanocrocea.
19th century: noted as captured twice at Eaton by Bridgman (maybe implying quite scarce?)
20th century: East Wretham Heath, Brettenham Heath, Foulden Common, Foxley Wood
21st century: quite widespread in recent years throughout the county.
[Arge metallica]
[A birch-feeding species with no British records at all to date, although has been recorded in Ireland.]
Arge nigripes
Sawfly website; Steven Falk photos
Apparently quite scarce. Durrant recorded from Shipdham in 1942 and Wendling in 1971. More recently, recorded from Roydon Common in 2007, Shotesham in 2018 and Santon Downham in 2019. These five records were all in a tight cluster of dates from 19th-29th May. Care needs to be taken to exclude other all-black species, particularly noting that A. berberidis is absent from older keys.
Arge ochropus
Sawfly website; Steven Falk photos
One of two similar rose-feeding species (with A. pagana), older reports suggest the species may have been more common in the past than recent meagre reports might suggest. Beginners also have a habit of mistaking Athalia species with this species.
Flight period: 27th May to 30th July
19th century: Bridgman (1888) said that James Stephens had referred to the species as 'generally distributed' in Norfolk. However, it's notable that earlier authors (c1880-1910) did not record A. pagana in Norfolk. Has status changed, or were people combining these two species?
20th century: Ted Ellis noted the species to be 'extremely abundant' at Wheatfen in 1947, and Ken Durrant also recorded the species for both East and West Norfolk, but no other actual records. Indeed, Durrant's collection in Norwich Castle Museum contains many specimens of pagana but none labelled as ochropus. These specimens need checking in case of confusion.
21st century: Norwich (2013), Horsey (2018), Mileham (2019), Foxley Wood (2020)
Arge pagana
Sawfly website; Steven Falk photos
Appears to be much more widespread than the similar A. ochropus, with records all around the county.
Flight period: 29th May to 29th August (two generations, with a gap in mid July)
19th century: no records (were Bridgman/Stephens mixing this species up with A. ochropus?)
20th century: Upton Broad, Foxley Wood and Holt Lowes. Also numerous records from Ken Durrant, but these specimens need checking vs ochropus.
21st century: widespread in recent years
Arge rustica
Sawfly website; Steven Falk photos
One recorded at Sparham in July 1882; this specimen is in the Norwich Castle Museum and was checked and verified 136 years later! No further records to date.
Arge ustulata
Sawfly website; Steven Falk photos
Widespread, although appears to be somewhat thin on the ground in the claylands of south-east Norfolk so far (pers. obs.) A species where the ratio of older records to newer ones perhaps suggests a decline, relative to some other species at least?
Flight period: 5th May to 22nd August
19th century: Shouldham, Eaton, Cringleford, Brundall
20th century: Wheatfen, Foulden Common, Lopham Fen, Marsham Heath, Winterton Dunes, Calthorpe, Norwich, East Bilney, Roydon Common, Thompson Common, Beeston Common, Horsford Woods
21st century: Hoe Rough, Roydon Common, Mundford, Holme, Waxham, Fritton, Norwich, Cranwich, Whitlingham, Sculthorpe, Seething
Genus Aproceros
Aproceros leucopoda
Sawfly website; Steven Falk photos
An invasive non-native species, the "Zigzag Elm Sawfly" appeared (or at least was noted) first in Britain in 2017 and then first noted in Norfolk on 17th June 2018; within a few months the species was widespread across the county, as it was again in 2019. Most records have been of larvae (or the resulting distinctive feeding signs) but adults found at Holme (17/6/18), East Carleton (23/6/19) and Shotesham (30/7/2020). Actual larvae have been noted between 4th May and 1st September (although feeding signs can be detected up to October).
Genus Aprosthema
[Aprosthema fusicorne]
[No records, although see A. melanurum]
Aprosthema melanurum
Sawfly website
A specimen identified as this species was taken by Ken Durrant at Aylmerton in July 1974. This specimen needs checking because Benson (1951) and subsequently Quinlan & Gauld (1981) lumped all three currently recognised Aprosthema as this single species in their keys, which Durrant presumably used. Until then, this species cannot be accepted as definitively occurring in Norfolk.
[Aprosthema tardum]
[No records, although see A. melanurum]
Sterictiphora angelicae
Sawfly website; Steven Falk photos
The only county record remains a male reported from King's Lynn in 1904.
Sterictiphora geminata
Sawfly website; Steven Falk photos
One was reported from King's Lynn in 1906, and then no further records until a male was caught near Hempnall in April 2019, followed by further SE Norfolk records in 2020 from Morningthorpe and Alburgh.
One was reported from King's Lynn in 1906, and then no further records until a male was caught near Hempnall in April 2019, followed by further SE Norfolk records in 2020 from Morningthorpe and Alburgh.
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