Caterpillars everywhere on Dwarf Purple (Salix) Willow Tree

[Ensoniq]

Hello - informed forum members!

This is a hugely different forum for me and I'm quietly delighted to be posting about flaura and fauna and not IT/Cable or Satellite based questions

Our 3 year old dwarf willow is 'absolutely' covered in these wee beggars... I don't know if it's happened before - but as I was watering the garden I realised that there were actually less leaves than caterpillars.

They are eating the leaves - and the strange new 'huge' 3 or 4 new stems growing out of the lower part of the tree (not the initial graft) seem to be relatively immune.

Can anyone advise whether these are normal/to be disposed of (and how) and this new suspicious shooting from the new branch - is this something to be wary of also?

Thanks in advance.

I haven't got the camera set up for such close up - but hope you can make out the beasties from the photo(s) attached.

M

[charlieb]

Photo

[Deer Stalker]

Hi Ensoniq. Welcome to WAB.

These pics? They look like Sawfly larvae.

[Ensoniq]

Originally Posted by charlieb

Photo

My apologies charlieb - I was just getting my head round the Gallery section as you posted.

Originally Posted by Deer Stalker

Hi Ensoniq. Welcome to WAB.

These pics? They look like Sawfly larvae.

They seem darker than Sawfly larvae but grateful for the advice. TBH - was expecting something even blander than that - (we've a ton of tiny white moths flying around - maybe that's an indicator)

If this is confirmed - do we remove the 10,000 squatters before the already (blooming) but dwarf willow becomes a 'stick' or leave them - I can't help thinking they've probably been resident before - but we've simply missed (errmm) all of them!!

Thanks again

[charlieb]

They are sawflies, quite common on willows - there are a lot of species. It's up to you whether you squish them or not, they won't damage the tree in the long run, but it may look a bit unsightly for while

[Ensoniq]

Originally Posted by charlieb

They are sawflies, quite common on willows - there are a lot of species. It's up to you whether you squish them or not, they won't damage the tree in the long run, but it may look a bit unsightly for while

Thanks for your help - much appreciated.

I'm not a beastie squisher at heart - so I'll let them enjoy their time on the willow.

[cutecoot]

I used to have a kilmarnock willow that every year was decimated by these larvae .. I'm afraid I ditched it in the end! Sorry it's not a very positive response

[Ensoniq]

Can anyone confirm that the 1 zillion 'now missing' caterpillars - have now mutated into the similarly numbered small pale coloured moth type beast which seem to have taken over the garden?

(I'll get better at this once I've been through the entire lifecycle of beastie No. 1!!)

Thanks in advance