Classification

Domain - Eukarya (the organism contains cells that have a membrane bound nucleus and         multiple organelles).

Kingdom - Animalia (Kingdom incorporating all living or extinct organisms.)

Phylum - Arthropoda (invertebrates that contain jointed legs.)

Class - Insecta (undergoes complete metamorphosis-egg, larva, pupa, adult.) (UMN Entomology)

Order - Hymenoptera (derived from the Greek words hymen-, meaning membrane, and            -ptera, meaning wings.) (UMN Entomolgy)

Family - Cimbicidae (the Elm sawfly is a cimbicid sawfly.  Other sawflies are the Conifer sawflies, Common sawflies, and Stem sawflies, each with their own family name.) (UMN Entomology)

Genus - Cimbex

Species - Cimbex americana

The Cimbex americana is part of the Class Insecta, grouped with bees, wasps, ants, and parasitoids.  The insects are one of the most diverse and abundant species on earth, with nearly one million named species and many times that number unnamed.  Due to the success of this group, insects are found in almost every niche, occupying terrestrial and freshwater habitats, as well as extreme environments, such as deserts and wastelands.  Each insect has specific adaptations to these biomes, which makes them widely distributed.  Although 30 orders of this diverse population exist, all insects share general external features: the head, thorax, and abdomen.  Other shared characteristics amongst this class include a pair of compound eyes, mandibles and antennae, three ocelli, two pairs of wings, and three pairs of walking legs (Myers 2001).