Common sawfly vs European apple sawfly

Hoplocampa brevis compared with Hoplocampa testudinea

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common sawfly	European apple sawfly
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (artrópodos)	Arthropoda (artrópodos)
Class same	Insecta (insecto)	Insecta (insecto)
Order same	Hymenoptera (himenópteros)	Hymenoptera (himenópteros)
Family same	Tenthredinidae	Tenthredinidae
Genus same	Hoplocampa	Hoplocampa
Species	Hoplocampa brevis	Hoplocampa testudinea

Evolutionary Relationship

Common sawfly and European apple sawfly share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Hoplocampa.

Conservation Status

Common sawfly

NE — Not Evaluated

European apple sawfly

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common sawfly	European apple sawfly
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common sawfly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (7 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

European apple sawfly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

Common sawfly

<em>Hoplocampa brevis</em>, the plum sawfly or common sawfly, is a hymenopteran insect in the family Tenthredinidae. The species is distributed across Europe and has been introduced to parts of North America, with records from Canada and the United States, typically in association with commercial plum and cherry orchards. Adults are small, wasp-like insects approximately 4–5 millimeters in length, with pale yellow-brown coloration. Females lay eggs inside flower buds of <em>Prunus</em> species during blossoming, and the hatching larvae burrow into developing fruitlets, feeding on the contents before exiting to pupate in the soil. Larval feeding causes fruitlets to drop prematurely, and infestations can cause economically significant losses in plum and damson production. The species is not currently evaluated on the IUCN Red List. Adults feed on nectar and pollen, and the species typically produces one generation per year, with adults emerging in spring coinciding with the blossoming period of host trees. The larvae are creamy white with a brownish head capsule and produce a distinctive, unpleasant odor when disturbed. Biological traits such as average lifespan, body weight, and detailed non-larval dietary composition remain poorly documented in standardized ecological databases.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇦 Canada 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States