Sawfly larvae are one of the biggest pests of the rose plant, pine trees, and many other species of plants like dogwoods, pears, hibiscus, and so on. Let’s understand how to spot and repel them.
If you see a hairless green larva on your plant leaves, you might be forgiven for thinking it will grow into a beautiful butterfly.
Alas, what you have seen is a sawfly larva, and it looks nothing like a butterfly as an adult.
More importantly, you need to act quickly to get rid of these larvae because they can quickly feed on and defoliate your entire plant.
Let’s learn more about these bugs and what damage they can do to your garden or plantation in this blog.
What Are Sawflies?
These bugs are a group of seven thousand or more species, which are all characterized by their saw-shaped ovipositors (the stinger-like organ that their females use to lay eggs in plants).
They vary in length, going from about 3/32nd of an inch to about 25/32nd inches long. Sawflies are not related to butterflies, despite the similarity in their larvae and caterpillars.
These insects are actually from the family of wasps. Sawflies are nectarivores; they love to suck on flowers for their sugary nectar and help spread pollen in the garden.
These bugs are not poisonous or venomous to humans, though their larvae can do significant damage to gardens.
Lifecycle of The Sawfly
The sawfly spends almost its entire life as a larva, living in this shape for months or even years. But when the bug actually comes out of this stage to become an adult, its life expectancy is hardly 7-9 days.
A typical female sawfly lays eggs by using its ovipositors in the soft flesh of plants (however, some sawflies can even give birth by parthenogenesis, a type of cloning). It lays the eggs in pods as a bunch together.
After hatching, the larvae start feeding on the host plant. Their tendency to cluster together means that the poor plant gets defoliated very quickly.
The larvae go through several stages before finally finding a nice spot to pupate. Typically they pupate either in soil or on the bark of trees.
Sawflies are plant-specific: meaning each species of the sawfly is partial towards only one type of plant, which is what it is named after.
But what is common among all sawflies is that their larvae love to munch on plant leaves, and their infestation can be devastating.
After pupating, when the adult sawfly comes out, it feeds mostly on pollen, honeydew, nectar, sap, and other insects.
How To Tell Sawfly Larvae From Caterpillars
Its actually quite hard to tell the difference between these two, but here are some of the things you should look out for:
These bugs have prolegs (fleshy and unsegmented legs) on every part of their body, but caterpillars only have them in the middle and near the tail.
In fact, caterpillars never have more than five of these prolegs, but sawfly larvae can have six or more. Another difference is that these bugs look completely hairless, unlike butterfly caterpillars.
Types of Sawfly
Like we said earlier, sawflies pick a plant and stick with it. Here are some of the commonly found sawflies in the world.
Rose Sawfly Larvae
These bugs have larvae that have a large orange-colored head and a greenish-yellow body. They can quickly eat the softer parts of the rose plant leaves but leave the veins. When sawfly larvae on roses are done, it looks like the skeleton of the leaf is still hanging on to the plant.
Pear sawfly
These larvae feed on sweet fruits such as cherries and pears. They also love ornamental plant leaves such as mountain ash, cotoneaster, and others.
The bugs look like small tadpoles and have a dark greenish color. They look shiny from afar, because they put their own liquid waste on top of their bodies.
Pine sawfly
These larvae have an off-white strip running in the middle of their backs which easily separates them from other caterpillars. They are gray-green colored with black heads.
As the name suggests, these larvae feed on pine needles. They only eat the top layer of the pines, and the leaves end up looking like straws by the time they are done with them.
Dogwood sawfly
These are slightly difficult to spot because they keep changing their colors as they go along their life stages. They might have a white-colored coating at one point, while later on, they grow into black or yellow-colored bugs.
Hibiscus sawfly
These little bugs have black heads and green bodies. They like eating hibiscus and other plants in the mallow family. These larvae start out at the bottom of the leaves and move upwards, leaving the veins untouched.
Scarlet oak sawfly
The larvae cover themselves with slimy, sticky substances, which lets them hang off leaves to keep predators away. They are greenish-yellow, but their bodies are see-through.
Mountain ash sawfly
These bugs eat mountain ash plants. They have black dots on each side and are colored green. They start out looking black but keep changing their color to a yellowish hue as they grow older.
Columbine sawfly
Columbine sawflies eat on the columbine plant, leaving almost nothing by the end of their feeding frenzy. They are greenish in color and have dark black heads.
How To Get Rid of Sawflies
In itself, eating leaves off a plant does not permanently damage or injure it, so sawflies aren’t necessarily a big problem.
However, if you have a new garden with young and tender plants, defoliation can cause them a lot of harm.
Moreover, these bugs are hard to spot due to their color, and many times you won’t find them out until they have already fed and dropped into the soil, so, at that point, there is no need for spraying insecticides.
If you are looking to get your garden rid of these pests, you might try to do the following:
Pick them off
If you spot them early enough, and they are not too many in number, you can just pick them off your plant one by one.
But if they have grown bigger and older, it is best not to pick them off at that stage. They might be getting ready to pupate, and your plant would have already lost most of its foliage.
Beneficial Insects
Sawfly larvae have many predators: birds love chomping on them, and so do frogs, ants, lizards, and other pests. Predatory wasps are another set of bugs that can take care of your sawfly larva problem for you.
Soapy Water
Soap water is a time-tested method of removing bugs from plants. Fill a small spray bottle and spray the solution on the affected leaves of the plants. The larvae should come right off and fall to the ground.
Insecticides
If nothing else works, you can try insecticides. It is best to stick to organic ones such as neem oil and horticultural oil. You can also use insecticidal soap to do the trick.
If the infestation does not show any signs of abating, even after trying all of these steps, try to use Pyrethrin. Pyrethrin is a powerful insecticide and should be able to remove the larvae from the leaves permanently.
BT (Bacillus thurningiensis)
A common bacterial solution that works on most pests is BT. Unfortunately, BT does not work with sawfly larvae because these are not caterpillars.
Bug Control Recommendation Tool
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get rid of Rose slugs?
One of the best ways to get rid of rose slugs is to spray them with a strong jet of water. If that doesn’t work, try using an insecticidal soap solution on them.
Another chemical that might work is spinosad. Spinosad is a natural insect repellant that works on a variety of bugs. Make sure you apply it on both sides of the leaves.
What insecticide kills sawfly larvae?
Residual pesticides that kill on contact are best for killing sawfly larvae. Some of these include lambda-cyhalothrin, permethrin and bifenthrin
Before you try insecticides on your rose leaves, it is better first to try and remove them using natural ways such as spraying water or insecticidal soap.
How long do sawflies live for?
While the larvae can live for months or even years on end, the adult sawfly can only live for about seven to ten days.
In some sawfly species, the females can reproduce asexually through a process called parthenogenesis, wherein they simply clone themselves.
Where do rose sawflies come from?
The rose slug is a bug that was originally found in Europe but has moved to other parts of the world as well. It is often seen infesting rose plants in the May to June months.
These larvae are yellowish-green and look very much like caterpillars. We have explained above how to differentiate between them and caterpillars.
Wrap Up
Sawfly larvae are a major pest for rose bushes and other plants. They are hard to detect and appear in large numbers, effectively defoliating an entire plant in a matter of days.
It is important to find and remove these larvae from your garden as early as possible. You can try various methods, such as picking them off, using insecticidal soap, or using beneficial insects to get rid of them. Thank you for reading!
85 Comments. Leave new
This is what I think I picked up in the park today. The color, shape and size looks right but there wasn’t any line down the back. Do you have an idea how big these things get? This one was about 2-3″ and was the flesh colored one. Also, it was grabbing me with something on the underside at the back end of it and it had little pinchers by it’s “mouth”. I think the trees in the area are Oaks not Elms. I live in NYC and it has been pretty hot here lately but not much rain but LOTS of Flies and I think they are biting flies, which is very unusual for this area. Could this be what I saw?
Elm Sawflies are frequently confused with caterpillars. Without a photo, it might be difficult to determine what you saw.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkb1kViNiVob.
Might have an ID for you for this one – I found an equally baffling fork-horned sawfly over here in Australia, in Uranquinty, central NSW. Googling ‘wasp’ + ‘forked antennae’ brought up the Purslane, or Purtulaca Sawfly, Schizocerella pilicornis, in which the males have those extremely unusual antennae.
Thanks for your comment. We will see if we can find a link to post.
er, that should be Portulaca Sawfly – mea culpa
There are many little orange worms on my plants that look a little like lady bugs. when I squeeze them, they ooze a bright orange. they are soft, like a short fat worm. I don’t know what they are, but am afraid they are harmful to my plants. Can you give me an idea? thank you so much
Please submit a photo.
This looks like a sawfly (suborder Symphyta) to me
Wow, really. We will look up some photos. Thanks so much.
I have just noticed my gooseberry bush has been completely stripped of all leaves. I have identified the creatures as the sawfly. With the naked eye they look dark green, but the closeup photo I took shows the blue bits and the yellow with a black head. I have never seen these before. Are they likely to attack other fruits bushes?
Thanks
We are not certain if these Sawflies will move to other plants.
i had a similar looking caterpiller on my black walnut tree, in Vintondale, PA is this the same caterpiller?
These larvae are just appearing on the many Gray dogwoods we have in our woods in one location right behind our shed. The last time there was an infestation, most of the dogwoods in my woods were decimated, but this was about 6-7 years ago. Since then there have been none of these larvae and the Gray dogwoods have thrived again, so I was surprised to see a couple of skeleton dogwoods finding the dried up chalky coverings on them then insepecting others nearby and finding a couple to a few curled up under the leaves inactive but alive and all with that powdery white coating. I dont spray poisons into the environment or use them at all, so I just hand pick them and throw them into the pond. Will have to observe if any frogs eat them!
Xiphydria mellipes. Family Xiphydriidae host is paper birch
Thanks Nathan,
Eric Eaton wrote back and also provided us with the information. We have updated the posting.
Did you consider Pergidae for this? The eyes and mouth parts don’t seem like Stratiomyidae to me. Check face at my link.
Thanks so much Mark. We have updated the posting to include the possibility that you have proposed.
I hope Clarissa takes pictures of the adult sawfly when s/he comes out. That would be a really nifty cap on this post & pictures. :^)
Amazing. A 3″ larvae, assuming that is what they are, traveling in packs (pods? herd? pride? swarm?) of dozens… then each turning into a “sawfly”…
None of the flies we have here (except flying beetles) are a fraction of their size. From other reading I see that they can be destructive in larval stage. I guess I’ll relocate them out of the yard…
Sorry that video files were not supported. Their locomotion is fascinating… Perhaps I’ll post to Youtube…
Amazing. A 3″ larvae, assuming that is what they are, traveling in packs (pods? herd? pride? swarm?) of dozens… then each turning into a “sawfly”…
None of the flies we have here (except flying beetles) are a fraction of their size. From other reading I see that they can be destructive in larval stage. I guess I’ll relocate them out of the yard…
Sorry that video files were not supported. Their locomotion is fascinating… Perhaps I’ll post to Youtube…
Thank you all for the tremendous effort.The Butternut wooly worm does come close to what i had wished to be identified.However i wish you all to have a re-look at the picture i had sent : The whole body seems to be covered with a white hairy wooly skin and the probably the redness of the body shows up in patches.The neck and the head part has much less wooly hair. I shall send 2 more photos which show the texture of the body.
i could not send this earlier due to the limitation of 3 photos per entry.
Bear with me and get the better out of my curiosity.
Thanking you all immensely ,
Thank you all for the tremendous effort.The Butternut wooly worm does come close to what i had wished to be identified.However i wish you all to have a re-look at the picture i had sent : The whole body seems to be covered with a white hairy wooly skin and the probably the redness of the body shows up in patches.The neck and the head part has much less wooly hair. I shall send 2 more photos which show the texture of the body.
i could not send this earlier due to the limitation of 3 photos per entry.
Bear with me and get the better out of my curiosity.
Thanking you all immensely ,
Nanda,
I included the link to the Butternut Wooly Worm on the posting of your caterpillar not as an identification, but as an example of insects that secrete waxy coverings. Karl who frequently researches our unidentified postings sent in the following comment: “Hi Daniel and Nanda: The comment from Steve is correct – this is a skipper butterfly (Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae). It looks like a Giant Redeye (Gangara thirsts); click on “Early stages” for caterpillar photos. It is found through most of southern India. Regards. K”
Dear Catherine,
it seems to me that this is a Bottlebrush sawfly – Pterygophorus cinctus. Since sawflies can’t sting, the coloration is probably mimicking a (stinging) wasp, for example Abispa ephippium.
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.
Hi I am looking for some images (preferably footage) of spit fire sawflies or similar to use for an orchid film. Would you have any that I could use and credit the photographer accordingly?
Cheers, Julian.
If there are any images from our site, please place a comment on the posting with your request and the purpose of the use.
Hi I am looking for some images (preferably footage) of spit fire sawflies or similar to use for an orchid film. Would you have any that I could use and credit the photographer accordingly?
Cheers, Julian.
Yes I just took a picture of the same sawfly . Took me hours to research what it was as it mimics a asian hornet !! The one I saw here Alberta / BC border has huge orange body and the one he saw is yellow though . Why is that ? different geographical areas or climate ? gender? THANKS
There is quite a bit of variation between individuals of the same species.
We were in Timbavati Game Reserve back in Sept…I took a picture of a beetle that was “passing” something like this….I am trying to find out what type of beetle this is….here do I send the photo for any help?
Thank you
You may submit your image by using the standard form accessed by clicking the Ask What’s That Bug? link on our site.
Did we ever figure out this bug?
We have not. Did you ever submit your image? We have nothing in our archive from Timbavati Game Reserve. You may resubmit your images using the Ask What’s That Bug? link on our site. If you already submitted it, we should have emailed you directly. Please put Timbavati Game Reserve in both the subject line and location field.
Yes, I did submit it…will re-submit with Timbavati in the title and location…..thank you!
h
Sorry, we receive so much mail we do miss things. That why we suggested the subject line. It will catch our attention.
Is OK..you got it now:) Thank you!
We did not receive any emails with the requested information “Grub from Timbavati Game Reserve” in the subject line. Are you using our standard form that is accessed by clicking the Ask What’s That Bug? link on our site?
Yes I did…and I received an email saying that you did get it, and would be looking into it….
Very curious. We will try checking spam box as it is not in the inbox.
Want me to re-send?
please
OK…standby…..
Still waiting.
OK..not sure what is going on..have sent the 2 pictures..individually….not sure what else to do, but keep trying….here it goes …again….
I have sent one…..if you don’t get it this time, is there somewhere else I can send it? I know AOL sometimes has issues with other addresses….
OK..just got a reply from you all, that you got it…..with Timbavati in the Subject line…see below, copied and paste
“Thank you for submitting your identification request.
Please understand that we have a very small staff that does this as a labor of love. We cannot answer all submissions (not by a long shot). But we’ll do the best we can!”
We have contacted our webmaster to try to locate the missing images.
Thank you very much..I saw the copy that you sent to me…will see what happens! 🙂
Sorry I am causing extra work…..
Holly
I work with forest insects and that caterpillar has become a focus of much of my time the past 2 summers, it’s a Lepidopteran. It’s a moth larvae from the family Noctuidae. The species is probably Sunira verberata. It’s been doing a lot of defoliating along the east and west sides of the Alaska range, in the wood tic-chiks around Holy Cross and up by Anvik. They have been pretty active for the past 3 years and numbers have been increasing. They don’t become adult moths until the fall. The moths you saw earlier this year were a different species , the name slipped my mind.
Thanks so much for providing your comment. We are changing the category, but BugGuide has no images of the Battered Sallow, Sunira verberata, Caterpillars. This is a native species. Do you have any information on why populations are growing or why they have suddenly become a concern?
I found one outside tonite in Sooke, BC. It is a female so has the white banding. Gave me a ‘what the heck is that?!” moment. It is injured and not a beneficial bug so will be in a jar until it gets pinned.
So what do I do with them. Will Sevin kill them and will they spread to other plants? They are too thick to pick off. They are eating the red dogwood shrubs.
Hi….I have not heard back from anyone…was just curious as to if you found the picture or not? and if so, figured out the bug?
Holly
we never received an image. Please use our standard form which can be accessed using the Ask What’s That Bug? link on our site if you want to submit an image. Please put “Red Grub” in the subject line.
Luna Moth can take on a pinkish shade before pupating. They look similar at first, about the size of a finger and lack the stripe. TIme of year and food source are in sync with the observation.
This web page did confirm a mystery I had. I found a larva, felt sure it was a caterpillar but could not find any caterpillars with a strip the full length of the body. Someone suggested Elm Sawfly. From what I read, there is an extra pair of prolegs on the sawfly (6 vs 5) and the head is round. I did not collect the specimen for further observations so have to go from my picture. Your picture is dead on, small yellow bumps and all.
Luna Moth can take on a pinkish shade before pupating. They look similar at first, about the size of a finger and lack the stripe. TIme of year and food source are in sync with the observation.
This web page did confirm a mystery I had. I found a larva, felt sure it was a caterpillar but could not find any caterpillars with a strip the full length of the body. Someone suggested Elm Sawfly. From what I read, there is an extra pair of prolegs on the sawfly (6 vs 5) and the head is round. I did not collect the specimen for further observations so have to go from my picture. Your picture is dead on, small yellow bumps and all.
Sorry for the long delay in the followup. After some rearing and DNA analysis, our samples have been confirmed as the native Orthosi hibisci, The speckled green fruitworm. We have confirmed samples from Bethel and areas around Lake Clark, Telaquana Lake and Chakachamna Lake. We also had numerous images of damage and larvae sent to us from the Anvik area as well as a number of other areas in Western Alaska. It’s likely but not I cannot say 100% that it’s Orthosia hibisci doing the damage.
We don’t know why populations have been growing in the last few years, that is hard to say. We have seen the damage in a number of inaccessible areas that we get to by float plane and I imagine that it has become a concern because there is also significant amounts of visible damage and large caterpillar and moth populations in areas where there are people.
There is quite a bit of information out there on this critter as its range is transcontinental, it has a very wide host range and has been a fruit orchard pest for some time.
Hi. Thanks to everyone for clarification. My bottlebrush trees have been eaten to sticks by sawflys. I have also seen the final result..the gorgeous “wasp”. I’ll probably just plant something else and let nature take it course. Who am I to judge.
Just found these caterpillars in my yard July 30, 2017, Granite Falls, NC. Didnt kow what they were. Was afraid to touch them because of the cottony covering was sometimes left on some of the leaves they were eating. Very fascinating caterpillars.
Though they look like caterpillars, they are actually Sawfly larvae.
Thanks for responding. I did more searching and found out about them. I also realized it wasn’t a young cherry tree I found them on and that it was indeed a black walnut. The squirrels may have buried one in my garden. Will they be a problem to any of my flowers and also my walnut tree. I don’t destroy insects unless they cause a big problem.
What can you use to kill these, we have to be careful as we have a peach tree next these them with peaches still on the tree and a Koi pond?
Sawfly Larvae will not move to your peach tree and they will not harm your koi. We do not provide extermination advice.
Um, some caterpillars will curl up in defense for long periods, and I assume that the sawfly larva is doing the same and is not dead.
I’ve seen these wasps around my swimming pool on Friday. We live in Lysterfield Victoria.
My puppy bit it and then I saw the wasp attack my dog.
Pup went to vet to get help as her face swell up. Never seen these types of wasps around before.
So if you’re camping and get rained on by sawfly larva – any suggestions on how to get them out of your car so an infestation. Doesn’t develop? Or can an infestation develo in your car or home if they get in?! They were EVERYWHERE!
That is a goat moth larvae.
Thanks for your input on this very old posting. Can you provide any links with visual support?
Are they harmful. We have them.
Safers soap sprayed on them & diatomaceous eart on the plants & the soil below seems to take care of them
I had a terrible infestation on my red twig for 3 years but this seems to work. Finally!
Safers soap sprayed on them & diatomaceous eart on the plants & the soil below seems to take care of them
I had a terrible infestation on my red twig for 3 years but this seems to work. Finally!
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.
Dear Lou,
Hi, I have just found this picture online. I am studying a group of sawflies for my PhD here in Europe. I was wondering if either you did collect any of these specimens, or if you could share to me the exact locality and collecting information. I am very interested in these specimens. Please let me know.
Thanks a lot,
Leonardo
Dear Lou,
Hi, I have just found this picture online. I am studying a group of sawflies for my PhD here in Europe. I was wondering if either you did collect any of these specimens, or if you could share to me the exact locality and collecting information. I am very interested in these specimens. Please let me know.
Thanks a lot,
Leonardo
Hi Lou Nigro,
Your photo at top of webpage
https://www.whatsthatbug.com/2012/05/06/sawfly-larva-possibly-cypress-sawfly/
does appear to be Cypress sawfly, Susana cupressi. It is a sporadic pest in Southern California.
Will you grant the University of California permission to reprint that photo in our publications and share it with others?
Our uses would credit it;
Photo by Lou Nigro, Used with permission.
Thank you, Steve
Steve,
This is a seven year old posting. Lou might not see the request. WTB? does permit educational institutions to reproduce images and content from our site, so we grant UC permission to reprint the image in your publication. You can cite Lou Nigro as the photographer and please credit as courtesy of What’s That Bug? or whatsthatbug.com
Hi Lou Nigro,
Your photo at top of webpage
https://www.whatsthatbug.com/2012/05/06/sawfly-larva-possibly-cypress-sawfly/
does appear to be Cypress sawfly, Susana cupressi. It is a sporadic pest in Southern California.
Will you grant the University of California permission to reprint that photo in our publications and share it with others?
Our uses would credit it;
Photo by Lou Nigro, Used with permission.
Thank you, Steve
I found one also, in Keene, New Hampshire. It is also bright orange rather than pink or any of the other colors mentioned in your article. I’m wondering if it could be invasive from the UK. See Cimbex Luteus on the misinformation superhighway. My YouTube channel has a video of it crawling across the road.
The Elm Sawfly, Cimbex americana, is native and according to BugGuide, its range is: “most of NA.”
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”.
Hahaha we just found one, googled it and voila! I love that the question was asked from N.B sask cause thats where I am ???? Hahaha good to know this thing is harmless cause damn! ???? thanks for rhe info!