Symphyta (sawflies, woodwasps; subclass Pterygota, order Hymenoptera) The smaller suborder of the Hymenoptera, whose members are distinguished from the Apocrita by the lack of a constriction at the base of the abdomen. The ovipositor is large and used for piercing and sawing plant tissues. Adults have a fore wing with one–three marginal cells and a hind wing with three basal cells. In adult saw-flies, the trochanters are two-segmented. The larvae resemble the caterpillars of the Lepidoptera, but differ in having up to seven pairs of abdominal prolegs. The larvae are mostly herbivorous, except for members of the parasitic family Orussidae. Symphytans occur on flowers and in association with their host plants, some causing defoliation.

sawflies See HYMENOPTERA; SYMPHYTA; TENTHREDINOIDEA; TENTHREDINIDAE.