Sawflies

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A. M. Varela, icipe
Is this a Minor Pest?
Yes
Minor Pest Title

Sawflies (<i>Athalia</i> spp)

Minor Pest Description

Sawflies are sporadic but serious pests of brassicas. The cabbage sawfly (Athalia sjostedti) has been reported as a major pest in Tanzania. Sawfly adults are wasps with dark head and thorax, bright yellow abdomen, and two pairs of membranous wings. They are about 1 cm long. Eggs are laid singly inside the leaf. Larvae are oily, black or greenish in colour with a swollen part just behind the head, which makes them appear humped. They look very similar to caterpillars, but they have 6 to 9 pairs of prolegs (abdominal legs), whilst caterpillars have 5 pairs or less. Larvae measure up to 2 cm when fully grown. Larvae eat the blades of leaves leaving just the main veins. They drop from the plant to pupate in the soil.

 

Minor Pest What to do.
  • Destruction of wild plants of the family of cabbages in the vicinity of the crop.
  • Ploughing in of volunteer plants at the end of the season helps reduce sawfly populations.
  • Manual collection and destruction of larvae is feasible when there are few sawflies on the crop.
Minor Pest Position
10
Minor Pest Firstcontent
117
Pest Type
insect
Host Plants
Cabbage/Kale, Brassicas

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