Mito-nuclear-discordance
Guides
Euura
Euura is a genus of sawflies in the family Tenthredinidae, subfamily Nematinae, with exceptional species diversity concentrated in northern Holarctic regions rather than tropical zones. The genus contains both free-feeding larvae that consume plant foliage externally and gall-inducing species whose larvae develop entirely within plant galls. Gall-forming females inject a stimulant during oviposition that initiates gall growth before eggs hatch, a distinctive mechanism among gall insects. Taxonomic revision in 2014 consolidated several former genera (Eupontania, Phyllocolpa, Pontania, Tubpontania) into Euura based on phylogenetic evidence. The genus exhibits substantial genetic complexity, with frequent mito-nuclear discordance and multiple functional COI variants within individuals complicating species identification.