A small family of some 200 species of sawflies from the temperate regions of North America and Eurasia. They are commonly called the leaf-rolling, or web spinning sawflies.
Symphyta
Sawflies differ from other Hymenoptera families by having a large connection between the thorax and abdomen. The common name comes from the saw like ovipositor, which the females use to cut into the plants where they lay their eggs.
Tenthredinidae is the largest sawfly family. It has 6000 species worldwide, with 900 European species and some 400 that are found in the British Isles. In size they range from 2.5mm to 15mm in length, and are either black or brownish yellow in colour.
