Common Green-Tenthredo

Tenthredo mesomela · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Tenthredinidae

Also called: Common Green Sawfly

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Common Green-Tenthredo
Photo: Kostas Zontanos, CC BY

The common green-tenthredo is a small sawfly about 10 to 15 mm long with a yellow-to-apple-green body and a black head, thorax and abdomen top. Adults appear from May to July, feeding on small insects and the nectar and pollen of flowers, especially those in the carrot family. The nocturnal larvae eat the leaves of buttercup and Persicaria plants.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Its body is yellow to apple green, while the head, thorax and the upper side of the abdomen are black; the pronotum and scutellum stay yellow. It can be told apart from similar Rhogogaster sawflies by the eye placement and a black wing spot (pterostigma), whereas Rhogogaster have a green one.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

It grows to about 10 to 15 mm (0.39 to 0.59 in) in length.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

You’ll find it in meadows, along roadsides and at forest edges across most of Europe.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Adults eat small insects and sip nectar and pollen, especially from Apiaceae flowers. Larvae feed at night on the leaves of buttercup (Ranunculus) and Persicaria species.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

Adults are active from May through July, feeding on insects and flower resources. The larvae develop by eating buttercup and Persicaria leaves during the night.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

You’ll see the adults from May to July.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its range covers most of Europe, where it lives in open grassy and edge habitats.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

It resembles Rhogogaster sawflies but differs in eye position and a black pterostigma.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Tenthredinidae)

Willow Apple Gall SawflyWillow Apple Gall SawflyEuura californicaTurnip SawflyTurnip SawflyAthalia rosaeNuisance, not dangerousWillow Redgall SawflyWillow Redgall SawflyEuura proximaYellow-spotted MacrophyaYellow-spotted MacrophyaMacrophya montanaDamages trees, gardens or cropsSaddleback Grass-cutterSaddleback Grass-cutterEutomostethus ephippiumDamages trees, gardens or cropsCherry Slug SawflyCherry Slug SawflyCaliroa cerasi

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenthredo_mesomela

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.

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