Siricidae of the Western Hemisphere; Schiff, Goulet, Smith et al.; 2012

Schiff et al. (2006) published a key to genera and species of the North American Siricidae. Their excellent illustrations should help anyone without a reference collection trying to identify a specimen. However, the revisions below should first be made in the text.

Page 7: Figure 3 at centre is an Urocerus and at right a Xeris.
Page 16: There are several problems with the key, and it should be avoided. For instance, in key couplet 7 the antennal color for Sirex juvencus juvencus does not work at all (this is S. nitidus or a European specimen of S. juvencus); in couplet 9, Sirex juvencus californicus, should be S. californicus (the pale legged form of the species is not considered in the key and would key to S. cyaneus in couplet 10), and Sirex edwardsii is the dark color form of S. nigricornis.
Page 17: Figure 5 (top) is either S. cyaneus or S. nitidus.
Page 27: Figure (left). The metatibiae and metafemora are oddly colored (the species cannot be recognized); figure (right), is either a S. nitidus or S. varipes because of spot on the mesotibia and mesotarsomeres 1 and 2.
Page 28: The figure is either S. cyaneus or S. nitidus.
Page 29: The figure is S. nitidus (based on the visible portion of the ovipositor).
Page 31: Sirex edwardsii is the dark color form of S. nigricornis.
Page 35: Sirex juvencus californicus should be S. californicus. Females exist in two color forms. The dark form is as in figures on pp. 36 and 37. The pale form is not illustrated but it resembles S. cyaneus or S. nitidus.
Page 39: The top figure is S. cyaneus, the left figure may be S. cyaneus, but it is not clear, the right figure is probably S. juvencus based on its antennal color pattern (a pattern that is almost never seen in North America). Sirex juvencus is not found in North America though it has been intercepted many times.
Pages 40 and 41: The image is either S. cyaneus or S. nitidus.
Page 56: The key to species of Urocerus is good, but the species name of couplet 11 should be interchanged.
Page 57: Figure 8. The caption should be reversed. The top image is Urocerus albicornis and the bottom image is U. flavicornis.
Page 80: The key is not clear enough as it attempt to segregate only three species of Xeris. Two of the species, X. morrisoni and X. spectrum, are complexes of two and three species respectively. We now know of seven species of Xeris for the region. The figures are clear, however.
Page 83: Xeris morrisoni indecisus should be replaced by X. indecisus. This is the pale color form of the species.
Page 87: Xeris morrisoni morrisoni should be replaced by Xeris morrisoni.
Page 91: The illustration is a male of the black form of Xeris indecisus, not of X. spectrum spectrum.
Pages 92 and 93: Xeris spectrum spectrum is either X. melancholicus or X. caudatus.
Pages 95 and 96: The illustrations are females of the black form of X. indecisus (X. spectrum townesi is a synonym).