Michigan State University Extension
Ornamental Plants plus Version 2.0 - 00001715
01/01/98

Sawflies

Sawflies superficially resemble caterpillars but are        
taxonomically very different.  Sawflies are the larval      
stages of a group of wasps.  Unlike caterpillars, which     
have only two to four pairs of prolegs, sawflies have       
prolegs on every abdominal segment.  It's important to      
distinguish sawflies from caterpillars because sawflies     
are not susceptible to Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t. or      
Dipel), a widely used microbial insecticide for             
caterpillars.  Adult sawflies are small (8 to 25 mm),       
dark, flylike wasps.  Most larvae are either leaf-chewing   
and caterpillarlike, or maggotlike leaf miners that cause   
leaf blisters or leaf blotches.                             

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