Description

Body length 9 to 11mm. An orange and black sawfly. The head and first part of the abdomen are black, the thorax and abdomen are orange in the female, the abdomen tip is black in the male. The underside of the thorax is conspicuously covered with silvery hairs. The knees are reddish, not black as in some similar species.

Habitat

Marshes and damp areas where the food plant of the larvae, horsetail, grows.

Status and distribution

Local but fairly widespread in mainly central Britain. Uncommon in Nottinghamshire and recorded once at Netherfield Lagoons.

Best time to see

June to July.