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Caterpillar?
Can you help me ID this caterpillar found on a trail in the mulch, in southern Ohio?
Kim
Caesar Creek Lake

Hi Kim,
Thanks for the Sawfly larvae photo with, I assume, your fingers for scale. Sawflies are not flies, but members of the Hymenoptera which includes Ants, Bees, Wasps, Ichneumons and many other families. We checked with Eric Eaton, an entomologist who believes it is one of the Cimbex species because of the large size. Cimbex americana is usually listed as our largest American sawfly, and the adult somewhat resembles a bumblebee. There are several color varieties as well. The larvae are described as yellow-green, but with the distinct black stripe down the back. Your photo could be a color variation of Cimbex americana or a closely related species. The caterpillar-like larvae feed on the leaves of a variety of trees. They can spurt a fluid when disturbed. The fullgrown larvae then crawls to the ground, where you found them, and find a place to burrow where they make a brownish cocoon to spend the winter. Thank you for adding to our site with a brand new page. We love getting new species.

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