Spitfires Sawflies - Subfamily Perginae
Family Pergidae
This page contains pictures and information about Spitfires Sawflies in subfamily Perginae that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia. Their Larvae are known as Spitfires Grubs.
- Adults and larvae in Perginae are large in size. Larvae do not have the abdominal prolegs. They feed on Eucalyptus and Angophora and store Eucalyptus oil inside body used for deference. They aggregate on leaves, branches or trunks by days, disperse and feed during the night. They pupate in soil and litter.
- Sawfly larvae are easily seen on trees and shrubs, more commonly seen than adults.
- Steel-blue Sawfly
- Perga dorsalis. Pergini, body length 25mm
- Steel-blue Sawfly is dark brown in colour with yellow spots on shoulder and on thorax. The legs are orange in colour. The orange antenna are relatively short. Steel-blue Sawfly larvae are pied in blue-black colour when young. They become all blue-black when matured. They feed on gum leaves. Please check this page for more infromation.
- Perga Sawfly Larvae
- Perga sp., body length 30mm
- Pictures were taken on Apr 2006. The larvae were found aggregated on Grey Gum.
- Pergagrapta sp., body length 25mm
- We found this adult in Alexandra Hill during mid summer 2003. It was resting on a small tree and ignoring our disturbance. Larvae feed on the gum tree leaves, disperse at night and gather together during the day. We have more information in this page.
- Paperbark Sawfly Larvae
- Pergagrapta polita, body length 30mm
- Larvae aggregate on stem of Paperbark Melaleuca sp.. Pictures were taken on Nov 2007 along Bulimba Creek near Sunnybank. Please check this page for more infromation.
- Eucalypt Sawfly Larvae
- Pergagrapta sp. body length 30mm
- Pictures were taken on Jan 2005.
Unknown Perginae Larvae
- Please advise if you know the ID of the following sawfly larvae.
- Unknown Perginae Larvae 1
- ? sp., body length 35mm
- On Apr 2008 in Ford Road Conservation Area, we found this sawfly larvae moving up alone on a Ironbark Gumtree. We do not know what species it is. Please advise if you know the ID.
- Reference:
- 1. Pergidae of the World - An online catalogue of the sawfly family Pergidae (Symphyta), Zoologische Staatssammlung München, 2009.
- 2. Saw Flies Order: HYMENOPTERA, suborder: SYMPHYTA - Australian Caterpillars, Don Herbison-Evans & Stella Crossley, 2010.
- Unknown Perginae Larvae 2
- ? sp., body length 35mm
- Pictures were taken on Nov 2004 in Karawatha Forest. There were a large group of them resting on ground amount the leave litters and the Ground Berry plants (Acrotriche aggregata). We do not know what species it is. Please advise if you know the ID.
- Unknown Perginae Larvae 3
- ? sp., body length 35mm
- Pictures were taken on Sep 2005. There were a small group of them on the Mat Rush plant (Lomandra sp.). We do not know what species it is. Please advise if you know the ID.
- Unknown Perginae Larvae 4
- ? sp. , body length 25mm.
- Pictures were taken on Jan 2004, also on the Mat Rush plant (Lomandra sp.). We do not know what species it is. Please advise if you know the ID.
- Unknown Perginae Larvae 5
- ? sp. , body length 20mm.
- Pictures were taken on Jan 2009 in Ford Road Conservation Area.
- Unknown Perginae Larvae 6
- ? sp. , body length 20mm.
- Pictures were taken on May 2008 in Daisy Hills.
- Unknown Perginae Larvae 7
- ? sp., body length 25mm
- Sawfly larvae are vegetarians and feed on leaf. During the evening they grouped together to rest, they help to avoid the predators. When disturbed (the second picture), they waved their tails together and usually will scare away the predator.
- Unknown Perginae Larvae 8
- ? Acanthoperga sp. , body length 25mm.
- Pictures were taken on Apr 2010 in Toohey Forest..
- Reference:
- 1. Pergidae of the World - An online catalogue of the sawfly family Pergidae (Symphyta), Zoologische Staatssammlung München, 2009.
- 2. Insects of Australia - CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 931.
- 3. Family PERGIDAE - Australian Faunal Directory, Australian Biological Resources Study.
