This is a small black and red wasp approximately 1/2 inch in length. The thorax and abdomen are bright red. The eyes, face, legs and wings are black. The antennae are black and generally held erect and are slightly curved.
The occurrence in Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods is not well known, but they probably can be seen from May through August sitting on vegetation, or nectaring on flowers, such as Queen Anne’s Lace.
A characteristic of this genus is that the antennae have 3 segments, the last one being very long. The mouth parts in Sawflies point forward rather than downward as in other wasps. The caterpillar-like larvae feed on poison ivy leaves (click here to see a larva image).
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