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A gazillion teeny tiny caterpillars found on an underleaf of my apple tree. You can see how small they are in comparison to my thumb in the first picture. I came back half an hour later & some were dropping from fine threads.
Spotted on Feb 5, 2013
Submitted on Feb 5, 2013
11 Comments
Hi Martin. I went back to search for them yesterday & ALL had gone. I couldn't find a single one (even with my glasses on), so they must have all dropped to the ground. I'll keep a close eye out, it's only a very small tree so I'll be able to spot anything on it. Thanks for your info. It's the little tidbits like that, cutworms on a thread, that help me learn :)
Leanne it will be helpful to watch them and shoot one when they are a bit older. Many cats such as cutworms escape by dropping down a thread. This behavior excludes sawflies. Do they stay and eat the leaves, or go to ground? Do you think they are an apple pest?
Ok thanks Emma. I'm just going to list them as 'larvae' as I have no idea which one to pick! :) Thanks for your help.
Leanna,what I mean is it could be "Spit fire Sawfly Larvae"
The larvae vary from dark blue or black to yellow and brown depending on the species and up to 80 mm long. The body is sparsely covered with white bristly hairs and the tail, which is raised when disturbed, is yellow and can exude an odorous fluid. During the day the larvae congregate in clusters of 20 or 30 for protection and disperse at night to feed. The adult wasps are mainly black or brown, with yellowish markings and about 25 mm long.
Thanks Emma, Lori & Martin. Martin, I couldn't get to the Brisbane Insect link, but I did go there anyhow & had a look & none there looked identical. I see the tussock moth larvae are very fluffy. I've just had another look to see if any are still there & cant see anything. Hmmmm. Thanks for the suggestions :)
The expert has spoken. :D
I've got a couple wrong lately so I may be an unreliable witness. Having said that, it does look like a sawfly larva http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_...
However two things are bothering me. 1/ Too many in the swarm - this makes me suspect a moth such as a tussock moth. 2/ Cluster of fluff - this is also possibly a tussock moth. But tussock moths are furry http://www.wallwork.me.uk/garden/Orgyia_...
There's something to ponder.
Also thinking sawfly, if my opinion counts for anything. ; )
Martini is an expert on this. We must wait for him to see this.
Hi Emma! That's the first thing that came to mind for me too. I dont know enough about them to be sure.
sawfly larvae?