Urocerus japonicus

Urocerus japonicus, commonly known as the Japanese horntail, is a species of sawfly, native to southeastern Asia. Studies show that the dispersal distance of the female is higher than the male.[3] The fungal species Amylostereum laevigatum had its first appearance in Japan via this sawfly.[4]

Urocerus japonicus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Siricidae
Genus: Urocerus
Species:
U. japonicus
Binomial name
Urocerus japonicus
(Smith, 1874)[1]
Synonyms
  • Sirex japonicus Smith, 1874[2]

Ecology

This horntail lays its eggs in the trunk or branches of the Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) or the Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) and the larvae feed on the sapwood. When ovipositing, the horntail introduces a symbiont fungus which either provides essential nutrients for the larvae, or which produces enzymes which help decompose the lignin or cellulose in the wood. The staining produced by the fungus reduces the commercial value of the timber.[5]

The horntail carries arthrospores of the fungus in a pair of small sacs on the abdomen known as "mycangia". A newly emerged adult female makes a short dispersal flight before drilling several holes in the bark of a suitable tree, depositing eggs and arthrospores from the mycangia in each hole.[6]

References
  1. "Urocerus japonicus (Smith, 1874)". Taxon profile. BioLib. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  2. Smith, Frederick (1874). "Descriptions of new species of Tenthredinidae, Ichneumonidae, Chrysididae, Formicidae, &c. of Japan". Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. 1874: 373–409.
  3. Miyata, Hiroaki; Maeto, Kaoru; Sato, Shigeho (2000). "Dispersal distance of adult Japanese horntail Urocerus japonicus (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) which causes wood discoloration damage". Applied Entomology and Zoology. 35 (3): 333–337. doi:10.1303/aez.2000.333.
  4. Tabata, Masanobu; Abe, Yasuhisa (1997). "Amylostereum laevigatum associated with the Japanese horntail, Urocerus japonicus". Mycoscience. 38 (4): 421–427. doi:10.1007/BF02461682. S2CID 83585690.
  5. Slippers, Bernard; de Groot, Peter; Wingfield, Michael John (2011). The Sirex Woodwasp and its Fungal Symbiont: Research and Management of a Worldwide Invasive Pest. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-94-007-1960-6.
  6. Fukuda, Hideshi; Hijii, Naoki (1997). "Reproductive strategy of a woodwasp with no fungal symbionts, Xeris spectrum (Hymenoptera: Siricidae)". Oecologia. 112 (4): 551–556. Bibcode:1997Oecol.112..551F. doi:10.1007/s004420050344. JSTOR 4221812. PMID 28307633. S2CID 13452085.
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