Despite their name, these insects are NOT FLIES! Sawflies (Symphyta suborder) are in fact Hymenoptera, in the same group as wasps, bees and ants. In fact, if you look closely, you can see the four wings that separate out wasps, bees and sawflies from true flies (Diptera) who have only two wings. They are large, impressive insects at roughly 18-25 mm in size, but harmless!

I found this one in Larose Forest and was delighted to see the female, as previously I've seen only the male http://www.pbase.com/laroseforest/image/106079624). This time I found a mating pair, and snapped a shot of the female after the male flew off (also took a few photos of them mating). Later, we saw another female ovipositing on willow trees.