Subject: How to get rid of dogwood sawfly larvae
Location: Georgian Bay, Lake Huron
August 30, 2013 12:13 pm
My dogwood bush/tree won’t last the night. Help! Thank you,
from Georgian Bay, Ontario Canada
photos copyright all rights reserved Karen Walsh
Signature: Desperate
Dear Desperate,
We don’t provide extermination advice. You can try hand picking the Dogwood Sawfly Larvae, Macremphytus tarsatus, but we don’t believe you need to worry about your dogwood surviving. Loosing its leaves this season will not weaken your plant, however, you will be deprived of the lovely autumn display of the dogwood’s change to red this year. Populations of plant feeding insects tend to come in cycles. You might find some helpful information on the Penn State Woody Ornamental Integrated Pest Management sheet or the IPM of Midwest Landscapes sheet.
Thanks so much for replying. Very helpful!