larva for iD if possible

[Toby]

seen on tall grass growing in margin of pond on Wimbledon Common. About an inch long.

[naturegirl]

Hi Toby, that is one strange looking larva!!

I'm a mainly a moth person.

I'v not seen this before but I'm sure that someone more knowlegable will be along soon to help you.

Naturegirl

[djackso]

It could be the larva of a Sawfly.

[CapAndBracket]

It appears to have protolegs all along it's body so i would say a sawfly
larvae, but which on is an experts question, excellent photo.

Cheers J.P.

[poschiavanus]

Certainly a sawfly larva, the single simple eye separates from caterpillars. I think I can see a little conical antenna underneath the eye as well. Furthermore the abdominal segments have annulets (the ridges separated by grooves), which are a distinct sawfly characteristic. I count 7 per segment.

A bit of a shot in the dark (am no expert): this could be the larva of Selandria melanosterna (= S. sixii), or the smaller S. serva (Selandrinae family Tenthredinidae). These species are associated with grasses, such as Reed Sweet-grass in damp places. A good diagnostic sign for the genus is a dark bar across the face between the eyes. If you took any other photos these might help in getting a better ID.

Other groups with 7 annulets and no prolegs on the 1st abdominal segment include the family Cimbicidae and the subfamily Tenthredinidae. Also the genus Brachythops which feed on sedges and are closely related to Selandria, are a possibility, but these are scarce.

As is usual with insects a precise ID isn't possible from a photograph. I think the experts prefer to rear the larvae and identify the adults.

HTH,

poschiavanus

[Toby]

thanks for comments and here is a better view of the face

[poschiavanus]

This photo clearly shows the band across the face: properly a transverse facial stripe, but more memorably a 'bandit mask'.

Since I wrote my comment I've found an example of a larva of Brachythops which shows this band as well as the Selandria which I knew about. However, I think it belongs to one of these two genera, and most likely Selandria.

poschiavanus