Bramble Sawfly larvae

Description:

I spotted this bramble sawfly larvae on a recent walk. It's not a true caterpillar, but is the larvae of a sawfly (which is really a wasp, or more accurately, a Symphytan). The larvae is green with a pale brown head, a yellow stripe along each side, and two tail filaments. Sawfly larvae have 3 pairs of true legs and up to 8 pairs of prolegs, whereas true caterpillars only have up to 5 pairs of prolegs. Commonly found feeding on Alphitonia excelsa, also known as red ash or soap tree, a species found in Toohey Forest although not the tree species in this spotting. To pupate, the larvae burrow into several centimetres into the ground near the base of their food tree. I believe that sawfly larvae of various species can occur in huge numbers and will frequently damage their food trees, although I only spotted this one individual. Its pale colour contrasted nicely against the dark tree bark.

Habitat:

Toohey Forest is a eucalyptus woodland reserve of approximately 655 hectares. The forest is situated within an urban area on the south side of Brisbane, within the city limits. The larvae will feed on native trees and shrubs, such as eucalypts, paperbarks and bottlebrushes.

Notes:

A good reference showing some of the various sawfly species larvae found in Australia - http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au...