Yellow-Horned Horntail vs Birch Sawfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Yellow-Horned Horntail Birch Sawfly
Scientific Name Urocerus flavicornis Cimbex femoratus
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Siricidae Cimbicidae
Size 20-35 mm 20-28 mm
Habitat Forests Parks
Diet Wood Feeders Herbivores
Regions Europe, temperate Asia Europe, Western Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Yellow-Horned Horntail

A large wood wasp distinguished by its yellow antennae contrasting with a dark metallic blue-black body. Females bore into conifer wood to lay eggs.

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Did You Know?

Adults often emerge from lumber used in construction, sometimes surprising homeowners years after the wood was milled.

Birch Sawfly

One of the largest European sawflies, with a stout body, clubbed antennae, and variable coloring from black to yellowish-brown. Larvae are large, pale green caterpillar-like grubs found curled on birch leaves.

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Did You Know?

When disturbed, the large larva can squirt a jet of fluid from glands above its spiracles as a defensive mechanism.