Cephoidea

Taxobox


image_size = 230px
image_caption= "Hartigia linearis" Cephidae
name = Stem Sawflies
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Hymenoptera
subordo = Symphyta
superfamilia = Cephoidea
familia = Cephidae
subdivision_ranks = Genera and species
subdivision = about 100 species in 10 genera

The Cephoidea are a small superfamily within the Symphyta, containing some 100 species in a single family, Cephidae, commonly referred to as stem sawflies. Most species occur in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in Eurasia. The larvae are stem borers in various plants, especially grasses, but sometimes other herbaceous plants, shrubs, or trees. A few are pests of cereal grains (e.g. "Cephus cinctus", which attacks wheat). They are exceptionally slender for Symphytans, often resembling other types of wasps, and they are the only Symphyta which lack cenchri. They are sometimes postulated to be the sister taxon to the Apocrita, though the Orussidae are more commonly considered such.