Apple sawfly is an insect of the sawfly family.
Do not confuse with:
The apple sawfly (Hoplocampa testudinea)
Apple sawfly (Pristiphora maesta) is an insect of the sawfly family (Tenthredinidae) . Sawflies do not have a wasp waist like the ‘regular’ wasps and they do not sting.
The apple sawfly occurs throughout Northern Europe, but is rarely a pest. However, if a few sawflies colonize an apple tree, the damage to the leaf is extensive.
The apple sawfly is black and measures 5 to 7 mm. Adult caterpillars are 10 mm long, are light greenish yellow with a row of black shiny dots on each side. The head is orange-yellow.
Apple sawflies fly in April and May. Female wasps lay eggs in rows on the leaf margins of apple trees, the host plant of this sawfly. The caterpillars that appear in mid-May eat the edges of the leaves. In mid-July, the caterpillars are adults, drop to the ground, burrow a few cm into the soil and spin a cocoon in which they overwinter.
Parasitoid wasps and vo
Affected plants
- Apple tree
Remedy
An infestation of the caterpillars of the apple sawfly is uncommon. However, in the case of a pest, treatment with nematodes is effective.
Prevention
Provide a bird-friendly environment: birds eat, among other things, the caterpillars of the apple sawfly.
