Looking for larvae
Each summer we are asking people to look for sawfly larvae in their gardens. It can be difficult to spot adult sawflies as they are always on the move and hard to photograph clearly. However, the larval stages are much easier to see because gardeners often notice leaves being nibbled on their plants. It is also a little bit easier for us to check what species a larva is as many species are only found on a specific plant.
How can I join in?
The peak months for finding larvae in your garden are May to September. Have a look at our Survey Guide and then check your plants to see if you can find any. Take some photos of any larvae you find and upload your records onto our sawfly recording page on iRecord.
What happens next?
Once you have entered your records onto iRecord, we will check your photos and confirm that you have identified the species correctly or otherwise try to determine what your species is. All the records will be available to the Sawfly Recording Scheme, Local Record Centres and researchers to help to build a picture of how widely the species are spread, how common or rare they are and to build on our understanding of what each species requires in its habitat. You can see what records are coming in by looking at the iRecord sawfly activity page.
