Life history of a red oak leaf-mining sawfly, Profenusa alumna MacGillivray (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) [Maine]

A little-known leaf-mining sawfly, Profenusa alumna , was responsible for severe browning and defoliation of northern red oak, Quercus rubra L., from 1956 to 1968 in Maine. All life stages were observed under both field and laboratory conditions to investigate its developmental and population biology. This sawfly overwintered as a prepupa in the soil. No males were found among thousands of adults examined. Populations subsided in 1968, following a sharp increase in larval and egg parasites. Parasitism of mature P. alumna larvae by Endasys sp. alone reached 75% in heavily infested areas in 1968.