Bug FAQAzalea Argid Sawfly
Arge similis · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Argidae
The Azalea Argid Sawfly is about 10 mm long and has a dark-blue body with short hair on its head. Its wings are brownish-black with bluish-black veins and lack any dots, which helps separate it from the similar Cibdela janthina. It is a solitary, plant-eating sawfly described from four female specimens collected in Japan and held at the Natural History Museum in Leiden.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The insect is dark-blue with a short-haired head. Its wings are brownish-black, have bluish-black veins, and contain no dots.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults are about 10 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives solitarily and feeds on plants.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It is phytophagous, meaning it eats plant material.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species was first described from specimens collected in Japan.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
A distinguishing feature is that the comb at the end of its abdomen splits into two, unlike Cibdela janthina.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 2 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Michigan, Virginia.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
More photos
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Questions people ask
How can I identify the Azalea Argid Sawfly?
Look for a 10 mm dark-blue sawfly with short hair on the head, brown-black wings with bluish-black veins and no dots, and a split comb at the abdomen tip.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is this sawfly originally from?
It was first described from four female specimens collected in Japan and stored at the Natural History Museum in Leiden.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Argidae)
Rose SawflyArge ochropusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Large Rose SawflyArge paganaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Bramble SawflyArge cyanocroceaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Elm Zigzag SawflyAproceros leucopodaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Cibdela janthinaCibdela janthina
Zenarge turneriZenarge turneriDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arge_similis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.