Small World Discoveries

HYMENOPTERA > SYMPHYTA > Argidae > Arginae

One of two Arge species with an orange abdomen combined with a dark costal area (stigma) on the forewings, but with no full or partial banding as found on Arge cyanocrocea and Arge melanochra. It is similar to Arge pagana, but separable by the orangey-yellow pronotum (shoulders) and tegulae (the small area at the base of the wings), yellowish wing membranes / basal veins, and the mostly yellow legs with distinctive black tips to the tibia and to the segments of the tarsi. The banded legs are similar to some Athalia species of the Tenthredinidae ‘typical sawfly’ family where confusion can arise if you don’t look carefully at the antennae to check whether the flagella are segmented or fused. The primary difference between Arge ochropus and Arge pagana is the colour of the pronotum, which has led to alternative common names for these two species, being the Orange-shouldered Rose Fusehorn and the Dark-shouldered Rose Fusehorn.

The distribution status of Arge ochropus is given as locally common, albeit accompanied with a map that actually shows it’s quite scattered across central and south-east Britain, but with very few recorded sightings in the south-west. The larvae feed on the leaves of both wild and cultivated roses. Adults can be found from June to August.