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Spitfires Sawflies Grubs
Perginae
-25.1771, 151.642
Field Notes
Description:
Sawflies, or spitfires, are not flies but relatives of wasps and are in the Order Hymenoptera. They are noted for the large, tightly packed clusters of larvae of some species that can be seen clinging to stems or branches of gum trees during the day. Adults are rarely seen.
Habitat:
The female sawfly inserts her eggs into a leaf using her saw-like ovipositor. On hatching, the larvae feed together on the leaf edge, later forming clusters by day and feeding at night. Hungry larvae will migrate en masse to another tree if they run out of food.
Mature larvae descend from the tree and bury themselves in the ground to pupate. The larvae pupate in the soil during the summer months. Adult sawflies later emerge from the soil in autumn.
Larvae of Pergid sawflies communicate by tapping their tails. They feed on gum leaves, collecting eucalyptus oil and storing it in a sac off their foregut. Their ability to regurgitate this when disturbed has lead to the name spitfires, however, they don't spit.
Notes:
Feeding on a Melaleuca.
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