AUSTRALIA, MELBOURNE
Location: melbourne
May 19, 2011 11:36 am
found this in my freinds back yard have no idea about bugs all we know is it only seams to move with its front 4 legs.
Signature: elias
Dear Elias,
This is the larva of a Sawfly, a nonstinging group of insects in the order that contains Bees and Wasps. We believe it is a Longtailed Sawfly in the Subfamily Pterygophorinae according to the Brisbane Insect website where they are described as: “Larvae in this subfamily feed on leaves of different native plants. They have six or more pairs of prolegs and a “tail” on the last segment. They do not aggregate in large group. They feed actively in small group during the day.”
I have these boring into my paper bark tree how can i get rid of them them so they dont come back. Last year we almost lost the tree.
It is our understanding, based on information posted to the Brisbane Insect Website, that the larvae of Paperbark Sawflies feed on leaves and that they are not borers. Perhaps something else is negatively impacting the health of your paperbark tree. Also, we do not provide extermination advice.
What do they eat? I’m in south east Victoria.
The Brisbane Insect site we quoted in the posting states: “Larvae in this subfamily feed on leaves of different native plants.” If you click on the link in the posting, you can visit the Brisbane Insect site and see images of Longtailed Sawfly larva feeding on leaves of gum and bottlebrush trees.
I have found this species on Melaleuca viminalis, syn Callistemon viminals.
They can denude young plants especially when grown in isolation.
Watch out for our soon to be released FREE Native plant book on the web “Bible of Botany”.