Nesoselandria morio (Fabricius, 1781)

Kumar, Deepthi S & Sankar, Manimuthu M, 2023, Taxonomic Notes and New Distribution and Host Plant Records for Sawflies and Woodwasps (Hymenoptera, Symphyta) of Japan VIII, Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science. Series A, Zoology 49 (2), pp. 57-74 : 68

Nesoselandria morio (Fabricius, 1781)

Japanese name: Morio-ko-habachi

Material examined. HOKKAIDO: 1$ (HH220626C), Hidaka, Nissho-toge, 42°58′N 142°45′E, 26. VI. 2022, H. Hara, and its progeny, 13Ə, eggs laid on Calliergonella lindbergii , 26–28. VI. 2022, hatch. 2–4. VII., reared on C. lindbergii and Climacium dendroides , mat. 21–23. VII., em. 15. VIII. – 1. IX. 2022, H. Hara.

Host plants. l[Koke no 1 shu]z (in Japanese; meaning a species of moss), Bryophyta, indeterminate class, ord., fam., gen. et sp. ( Naito, 1988). l[Haigoke]z (in Japanese; meaning Bryopsida: Hypnales : Hypnaceae : Hypnum plumaeforme Wilson ) ( Naito, 2020) (this record needs verification; see remarks below). Food plant under rearing conditions. Bryopsida: Hypnales : Hypnaceae : Calliergonella lindbergii (Mitt.) Hedenás (new record); Isobryales: Climaciaceae : Climacium dendroides (Hedw.) F.Weber et D.Mohr (new record). In Finland, Vikberg and Nuorteva (1997) reported the larval feeding on the following mosses under rearing conditions: Bryopsida: Bryales : Mniaceae : Plagiomnium cuspidatum (Hedw.) T.J.Kop. ; Dicranales : Ditrichaceae : Ceratodon purpureus (Hedw.) Brid. ; Hedwigiales: Hedwigiaceae : Hedwigia ciliata (Hedw.) P. Beauv. ; Hypnales : Symphyodontaceae : Plagiothecium denticulatum (Hedw.) Bruch et Schimp. ; Polytrichales : Polytrichaceae : Polytrichum commune L. ex Hedw.

Remarks. Nesoselandria morio is the only sawfly known to feed on moss ( Naito, 1988; Vikberg and Nuorteva, 1997). Naito (1988) simply stated the larva fed on a species of moss. Vikberg and Nuorteva (1997) confirmed that the larva ate various species of Bryopsida, using the larvae reared from the eggs laid by females indoors. The host species, namely the larval food species under natural conditions, remains unknown. Although Naito (2020) stated that the host plant was Hypnum plumaeforme , his statement was not accompanied by the observational data or the sources. It requires verification. We here add two species of Bryopsida as the food plants under rearing conditions. One of them, Calliergonella lindbergii , was found near the point where the studied female was collected. The moss is probably the host plant of the sawfly.