|
Mission Statement
The Montana State University Wheat Stem Sawfly Project is dedicated to novel research that furthers the understanding of this important pest's biology and management. Current research projects include: chemical ecology, spatial ecology of the sawfly and associated parasitoids, host plant resistance, and wheat stem sawfly pathology.
Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction
The wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae) is an internally feeding insect pest of wheat and other cereals, but it is also found on a broad range of grass hosts. Sawflies are distributed across Western North America with individuals collected in both the United States as well as Canada (Ries 1937; Davis 1953 1955). The wheat stem sawfly attacks other hollow stemmed native species of grass (Ainslie 1920), as well as many common exotic species of grass such as: smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis), timothy (Phleum pratense), and quackgrass (Agropyron repens) (Luginbill and McNeal 1954). It is estimated that damage from the wheat stem sawfly costs Montana wheat farmers $25 million dollars per year, making it the most destructive agricultural pest in the state (Montana State University 1996, 1997).
.jpg)
Species Description
Sawflies are primitive wasp-like insects in the Family Cephidae. The adults are slender and laterally compressed with a shining black abdomen with yellow bands (Norton 1872). They range in size from 10mm to 15mm long. Females tend to be larger than males and are easily distinguished from males by the presence of an ovipositor at the end of their abdomen. Their serrated ovipositor saws into plant stems to lay eggs, thus the name 'sawfly'. Unlike some female Hymenoptera, the sawfly ovipositor does not function as a stinger.
|
