Argid Sawflies

This family is cosmopolitan. It is the second largest sawfly family, with over 800 species. The tropical regions of the world contain the largest number of species, over 100 species of Arge alone having been described from tropical Africa. Over 300 species of the family have been described from the Neotropical Region, even though the fauna there is virtually unexplored. In America north of Mexico, the greater number of species is found in the southwestern United States. Hosts and habits are various, but most species feed externally on the foliage of the host plant in the larval stage. Only one North American species is known to be a leafminer, Schizocerella pilicornis (Holmgren) in purslane.

Argidae is a large family of sawflies, containing some 800 species worldwide, primarily in tropical regions. The larvae are phytophagous, and commonly can be found feeding (and often pupating) in groups, though very few attain pest status.

Large rose sawfly, a horticultural pest

The family is distinguished from all other Symphyta by the reduction of the antenna to three segments, flagellomeres; the last one is elongated often shaped like a tuning fork in males.