Bug FAQNorth American Elm Sawfly
Cimbex americanus · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Cimbicidae
Also called: elm sawfly
Adult elm sawflies are about 3 cm long and their larvae can reach 5 cm. A wasp species, Opheltes glaucopterus, parasitizes their prepupal stage.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Like other sawflies, this species lacks a sting.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults are about 3 cm long; larvae can grow up to 5 cm.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it bite or sting?
It does not possess a sting.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Cimbex americanus belongs to the sawfly family Cimbicidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
The wasp Opheltes glaucopterus parasitizes its prepupae.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 50 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Alaska, Vermont, Illinois, New York, Minnesota, Maine, Ohio.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Same family (Cimbicidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimbex_americanus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.