Insecticide For Sawfly

Sawflies, members of the order Hymenoptera, are closely related to wasps and bees. If you see them flying around in your garden, take action. Sawflies are related to wasps and bees.  Their name comes from the saw-like ovipositor (egg-laying structure) of adult females.  Adult sawflies are small, stout-bodied, non-stinging wasp-like insects, although they are seldom noticed in the landscape.

Insecticide For Sawfly

Most sawflies in Minnesota have one generation per year (that is it takes one year to go completely through their life cycle once), although some go through two generations.

Adult females use their saw-like ovipositors to cut slits into needles, leaves, or tender new shoots to lay eggs.

Eggs hatch into larvae that feed on foliage of their host plants for about four to six weeks.

• It is common for most sawflies to feed gregariously, in non-social groups.
• When in such a group, if they are threatened, they can simultaneously raise and arch their bodies as a defensive tactic (presumably to scare away would be predators).

Many sawflies overwinter in the soil as pre-pupae (the stage between a mature larva and pupa) or pupae in cocoons; some species also overwinter as eggs or larvae.  Adults typically emerge in the spring or early summer.

When sawflies are first active in the spring depends on:

• Where in Minnesota they are found (generally the further north in the state, the later they will first become active).
• Whether spring is early, late, or normal.

Damage caused by sawflies

Sawfly feeding can vary from slight to severe.  The larvae typically feed in groups, and it is not uncommon for feeding to occur on just a few branches, although a severe infestation can cover an entire plant.

Conifer-feeding sawflies:

• Some species emerge very early in the spring before new growth on trees has occurred and eat older needles from previous years.
• Sawflies emerging later in spring feed on new growth.
• A few species eat both new and old foliage, and these species can completely strip conifer trees of their needles in one season.

Deciduous plant-feeding sawflies

• Larvae often feed along the edges of the leaves and can chew the leaf blade down to the midrib.
• Slug sawflies feed by chewing leaf tissue on one surface of the leaf between the veins, a type of feeding known as windowpane feeding.
• Damaged leaves at first are whitish; eventually these injured areas turn brown.

Healthy, mature deciduous plants can typically tolerate sawfly feeding in one season.

• Even when it is severe, as deciduous plants can regrow leaves.
• However, recently transplanted trees and shrubs and plants that have been severely defoliated in several consecutive years are more susceptible to injury.

Sawflies attacking conifers feed on the surface of needles at first, leaving needles discolored, distorted, and straw-like.

• As the larvae grow larger, they consume entire needles.
• With the exception of tamarack, conifers do not regrow new needles once they are consumed.

Even if sawfly defoliation does not impact plant health, defoliation may negatively affect the appearance of trees or shrubs.

Insecticide For Sawfly

Sawflies are a common pest on deciduous trees, especially maples and willows. They can cause significant damage to your tree if left untreated. Here’s how to identify sawflies and how to use an insecticide for sawfly control.

Sawfly Identification

Sawflies are small insects that resemble wasps or bees. They have long, thin bodies that are covered in bristly hairs, and they have wings with a short body length. The larvae (immature form) look like caterpillars, but they have fewer segments than caterpillars do. Sawfly larvae have a segmented body with three pairs of legs per segment, while caterpillars have five pairs of legs per segment.

Adult sawflies have a slender body with narrow wings that fold over the abdomen when not in flight. They are usually between 1/2-inch and 1-inch long (about 12 mm to 25 mm). The most common species in North America is the green June beetle sawfly (Polyphylla decemlineata), which has an emerald green thorax and abdomen with black markings on each segment of its body; however, there are many other species found throughout the country as well.

List Of Insecticide For Sawfly