Pink Larva on Willow - Cimbex americana

Moved

… v belov, 10 November, 2009 - 8:05am

Looks like a sawfly larva

with all the prolegs and the black eyespot. Knowing it was on willow should help a lot. More images in the guide here

… john and jane balaban, 28 March, 2006 - 6:36pm

Sawfly larva

Yes. It looks like Cimbex sp. is there only one, C. americana? It seems some photos have the black stripe alone and others have black stripes heading down the sides. Thanks.

… kirkk, 5 April, 2006 - 5:42pm

How big do sawflies get?

To me, two inches seems huge, but I'm a bit ignorant about them.

… Jim McClarin, 5 April, 2006 - 8:50pm

pink larva

It really was that large. I have a hard time reconciling this large larva with a typical sawfly. I'm still waiting for a sawfly expert to weight in.

… kirkk, 30 April, 2006 - 12:52pm

Okay, plan B:

On the chance it's a lepidopteran larva, I've asked Janice Stiefel to have a look at it since she's reared a lot of larvae from that region.

… Jim McClarin, 30 April, 2006 - 5:07pm

Elm Sawfly

I don't claim to be an expert on sawflies, but this one I have photographed both adult and larva. I found the larva eating Willow (Salix), overwintered it in a jar in the fruit cellar with 4 in. of soil (where it buried itself) and adult eclosed in Spring. I have several other sawfly larvae that I can't ID, however.

… Janice Stiefel, 30 April, 2006 - 5:21pm

Sawfly larva

Thanks Janice. Sawfly it is. Genus? Kathy

… kirkk, 21 June, 2006 - 11:16am

Nice image!

And welcome to bugguide. I'm sure an expert will be along shortly :-)

… Jim McClarin, 28 March, 2006 - 6:25pm