Elm zigzag sawfly
The elm zigzag sawfly is a small black insect with pale legs. Its little green larva eats elm leaves in a zigzag line, like someone drew on the leaf with scissors. That is how it got its name.
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Fun facts
It came from China and Japan and was first found in Europe in 2003 and in North America in 2020.
Its larva grows up in only 2 to 3 weeks.
The larva spins a see-through cocoon that looks like a tiny net under an elm leaf.
There are several generations in one year, so lots of larvae can strip elm trees of their leaves.
Most asked questions about Elm zigzag sawfly
?Why is it called the zigzag sawfly?
Its young larva eats a zigzag-shaped line into elm leaves.
?Is the elm zigzag sawfly harmful?
Not to people, but it can eat so many elm leaves that the trees get weak.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Aproceros leucopoda
- Group
- Wasps and hornets
- Family
- Argidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hymenoptera > Argidae
- Lives on
- Asia, Europe, North America
Where the facts come from
- Aproceros leucopoda (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Johannes. CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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