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Horntails, Wood Wasps and SawfliesWhite powdery caterpillars devouring my dogwood!
The culprits look like bird droppings when curled up in a circle under the leaves. When eating (aggressively) they are 11/2 inch long caterpillars with black and white heads and a powdery coating that stuck to me when I pruned and removed leaves with pests and eggs! I sprayed the shrub and the next day there were more! One caterpillar was gold coloured-before or after the powdery coating?? Please help!
Kathy Ferguson
Goderich, (Southern) Ontario, Canada
Hi Kathy,
These are Dogwood Sawflies, Macremphytus tarsatus (or one of two other closely related species in the genus that are difficult to distinguish from one another), and they are related to wasps, so they are not Caterpillars. Dogwood Sawflies, according to BugGuide, have larvae that: “start out covered with a powdery waxy white coating, which they shed later in the year to become yellow with black cross-stripes or spots on top. “
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