Dusky Birch Sawfly vs Fairyfly Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Dusky Birch Sawfly Fairyfly Wasp
Scientific Name Croesus latitarsus Dicopomorpha echmepterygis
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Tenthredinidae Mymaridae
Size 8-10 mm 0.139-0.240 mm
Habitat Woodlands Underground
Diet Herbivores Parasitoids
Regions North America North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Dusky Birch Sawfly

A medium-sized sawfly with an orange abdomen and black head and thorax. Larvae are yellowish-green with dark spots and feed in rows along the edges of birch leaves.

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Did You Know?

The larvae feed in a distinctive edge-to-edge pattern, consuming the leaf blade while leaving the midrib intact like a fishbone.

Fairyfly Wasp

The smallest known insect in the world at just 0.139 mm in length. Males are blind, wingless, and smaller than some single-celled organisms.

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Did You Know?

Males of this species are smaller than a paramecium — they are blind and wingless, existing solely to mate with sisters before they even leave the host egg.