Syntexis libocedrii
Species of sawfly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Syntexis libocedrii, (also called the cedar wood wasp or incense-cedar wood wasp) is the only living species in the wood wasp family Anaxyelidae, within the Symphyta, though the family has an extensive Mesozoic fossil record.[2] This species is thus a "living fossil". It has the remarkable behavior of greatly favoring ovipositing in recently burnt incense-cedar (Calocedrus), red cedar (Thuja) or juniper (Juniperus). The wood is often still smoldering while the wasp is laying its eggs, and the larvae develop in the wood.[3] S. libocedrii occurs from the mountains of central California to southern British Columbia, but is very rarely seen, except by firefighters.
| Syntexis libocedrii | |
|---|---|
| |
| Adult female from Oregon[1] | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Superfamily: | Siricoidea |
| Family: | Anaxyelidae |
| Subfamily: | Syntexinae |
| Genus: | Syntexis |
| Species: | S. libocedrii |
| Binomial name | |
| Syntexis libocedrii Rohwer, 1915 | |
