Twitter can be a wonderful resource. Within half an hour of posting a request for help in identifying this sawfly larva, it had been identified by @SK53onOSM and Colin Perkins (@PershoreColin) as Apethymus serotinus.
For pictures of the adult insect, visit this blog
It exhibited typical sawfly larva behaviour when I gave it a gentle prod ....
........ curling itself up into a spiral.
The key distinction between a lepidopteran (butterfly or moth) caterpillar and a sawfly caterpillar lies in the number of legs: both have three pairs of true legs at the front but lepidopteran larvae only have four pairs of prolegs behind, whereas sawfly larvae have six or more pairs of prolegs.
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It is years since I started enjoying your posts. I do try and look now but know I still miss 9/10ths of things.
ReplyDeleteDidn't expect to keep the blog going for this long Adrian. Closing in on the 1000th. pos! All the best, Phil
DeleteWill have to remember this when trying to identify caterpillars..Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many, aren't there? Sometimes the only way I can ID them is to feed the larvae until they become adult insects.
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