Is this a male or female Poison Ivy Sawfly? - Ask Extension
I observed and filmed this poison ivy sawfly last June 20, 2024 at a SNA in MN and wondered if there is a way one can tell if it is a male or female? ...
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Is this a male or female Poison Ivy Sawfly? #890846
Asked December 16, 2024, 2:44 PM EST
I observed and filmed this poison ivy sawfly last June 20, 2024 at a SNA in MN and wondered if there is a way one can tell if it is a male or female? I have a little over 4 min. of 4k footage which I made these images from and thought of putting together a short video and if I knew if this one was a male or female of the species I could state that. I have a YouTube channel which is just my name Dan W. Andree with other insect mammal subjects all filmed in Mn. over the past several years. I am sending mainly under or rear shots as maybe that is what would better help identify the sex of it better.
Thank you for your time
Norman County Minnesota
Expert Response
Hi Dan – Male and female sawflies are similar in appearance however male sawflies are smaller than their adult female counterparts. Adult males are ¼″ to ⅜″ whereas adult females are 5⁄16″ to 7⁄16.″ The two sources I used were http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/poison_ivy_sawfly.html) and https://bugguide.net/node/view/37898. Hope this helps!
