Symphyta (Hymenoptera) species richness in mixed oak-pine forests in the central Appalachians

Malaise trap sampling in the George Washington National Forest, Augusta Co., Virginia, and the Monongahela National Forest in Pocahontas Co., West Virginia, in the central Appalachian Mountains over a five-year period at 36 sites resulted in the collection of 155 species in eight families of Symphyta. Tenthredinidae were the most species rich with a total of 121 species and Pergidae were the most abundant with a total of 4,529 specimens. A comparison with other long-term, Malaise trap-based sawfly surveys in diverse habitats indicates that there is a relationship between the number of specimens identified and species richness documented.