Notes on larval instars and adult antennae of Neodiprion abietis (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae)

The native balsam fir sawfly, Neodiprion abietis (Harris) (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae), occurs throughout Canada, Alaska, and the northern United States of America (Rose et al. 1994; Drooz 1985). This sawfly was originally described as Lophyrus abietis (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae) (Harris 1841), then transferred to the genus Diprion (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae) (MacGillivray 1916). Rohwer (1918) established the genus Neodiprion for Nearctic species of the genera Lophyrus and Diprion. Based on differences in size, color, and female genitalic characters between adults reared from the genera Abies, Picea, Pseudotsuga, and Tsuga (Pinaceae), Ross (1955) considered N. abietis as a complex. After a thorough morphological and physiological study, Knerer and Atwood (1972) concluded that there were five strains of N. abietis in North America: one western and four eastern.