Have you ever seen a saw fly?

Well! I seen a horse fly

I seen a dragon fly

I seen a house fly

I seen a peanut stand, heard a rubber band,

But I be done seen ‘bout ev’rything, when I see an elephant fly.

You could hardly miss seeing Dumbo fly, but these creatures are so small you would have had to have gone to Specsavers.

I’m talking about Sawflies, of which there are numerous species. They are less than 5mm in size and of a wasp like appearance.

How come I raise this subject I hear my imaginary follower say.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Well! Mrs S and I were, upon our new patio chairs, Saturday afternoon just gone.

She discovered on her finger the smallest pale caterpillar ever.

It was less than 6mm long and less than .25mm wide.

I had to find out.

We were sitting beside our Goat Willow and therefore it was reasonable to assume that it had fallen from there.

Goat Willow (Salic caprea)

Around midday today, whilst sharing another cuppa together, my attention was caught by a ladybird.

This ladybird to be precise.

Fourteen Spotted Ladybird (Propylea quatuordecimpunctata)

 A fourteen spotted ladybird to boot.

Now that I was stood up, close and personal, I could see blisters on the willow leaves. These were galls about 6mm long and emanated from either sides of the leaves.

They appeared to have been made by the Willow Redgall Sawfly.

I believe that in Canada they are referred to as the Red Bean Sawfly. I assume that as the galls are red they look like red beans, or maybe they just live off red bean leaves.

Willow Redgall Sawfly (Euura proxima)

To see ladybirds in my neck of the woods these days is a treat. On the rare occasions that I do, they and their larvae are spotted (forgive the pun) on said Willow. 

I have never seen aphids on the Willow, but the Blue Tits are regularly hanging upside down there foraging.

Ladybirds will prey on the sawfly larvae when available.

Another way ‘Mother Nature’ checks the balance.