Difference Between Sawfly Larvae and Caterpillars

The key difference between sawfly larvae and caterpillars is that sawfly larvae are immature stages of wasps or bee-like insects that have prolegs on every segment of the abdomen while caterpillars are immature stages of moths and butterflies which have two to five pairs of prolegs.

Sawfly larvae and caterpillars are two types of cigar-shaped immature stages of insects that are commonly found on plants. They resemble each other. But, sawfly is a hymenopteran and sawfly larvae are their immature forms. Caterpillars are immature forms of moths and butterflies, which are lepidopterans. Both sawfly larvae and caterpillars feed on economically important crop plants. When using insecticides for controlling these young larvae, it is really important to identify the correct type of insect larvae present on plants. Some insecticides do not have any effect on sawfly larvae while some insecticides are good for caterpillars.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Sawfly Larvae 
3. What are Caterpillars
4. Similarities Between Sawfly Larvae and Caterpillars
5. Side by Side Comparison – Sawfly Larvae vs Caterpillars in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What are Sawfly Larvae?

Sawfly larvae are worm-like immature stages of sawflies. Sawfly is a member of suborder Symphyta of insect order Hymenoptera. Sawfly is related to wasps and bees. They are mainly the plant feeders. Sawfly larvae feed on the foliage of important crops. They possess prolegs on each segment of the abdomen.

Generally, they have six or more pairs of prolegs. Moreover, sawfly larvae do not have hairs or crochets on their feet. Therefore, they look like hairless caterpillars. The adult stage of sawfly larvae is a type of fly related to wasps and bees. Hence, they do not turn into moths and butterflies. Furthermore, sawfly larvae tend to feed in groups.

What are Caterpillars?

Caterpillars are immature stages of either a moth or a butterfly. They belong to insect group Lepidoptera. Caterpillars have fewer numbers of prolegs than sawfly larvae. Generally, they have two to five prolegs. Their prolegs are present in the middle and at the tail end. Moreover, caterpillars have hairs or crochets on their feet.

Caterpillars turn into moths or butterflies. Similar to sawfly larvae, caterpillars feed on the foliage of economically important plants.

What are the Similarities Between Sawfly Larvae and Caterpillars?

• Both sawfly larvae and caterpillar are immature stages of insects.
• They become adults later.
• Their bodies are cigar-shaped.
• Moreover, they have prolegs.
• They feed on plants.
• Both damage economically important crop plants.

What is the Difference Between Sawfly Larvae and Caterpillars?

Sawfly larvae are worm-like immature stages of sawflies, which are wasps or bee-like insects. Caterpillars are immature stages of either a moth or a butterfly. So, this is the key difference between sawfly larvae and caterpillars. Furthermore, sawfly larvae have prolegs on every segment of the abdomen. Generally, they have six or more pairs of prolegs. In contrast, caterpillars have two to five prolegs. Thus, this is another important difference between sawfly larvae and caterpillars.

Moreover, Sawfly larvae do not have hairs on their feet while caterpillars have hairs on their feet. In addition to these differences, sawfly larva becomes a type of fly-related to wasps and bees, while caterpillar becomes a moth or a butterfly.

Below infographic shows the differences between sawfly larvae and caterpillars in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Sawfly Larvae vs Caterpillars

Sawfly larvae and caterpillar are two immature stages of two different types of insects. Sawfly larvae look-like hairless caterpillars since they do not have hairs on their feet, and they have six or more pairs of prolegs. In contrast, caterpillars have crochets or hairs on their feet, and they have five or fewer number of prolegs. Besides, sawfly larvae become a type of wasps or bees like an adult while caterpillar becomes either a moth or a butterfly. Both types of larvae feed on plants. Thus, this summarizes the difference between sawfly larvae and caterpillars.

Reference:

1. “Sawflies.” Sawflies | Horticulture and Home Pest News, Available here.
2. Joe Boggs. “Is It a Sawfly Larva or a Caterpillar?” BYGL, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Sawfly Larva treegrow annotated with anatomical terms” By JonRichfield – {{own annotations, but Wikimedia source = File:Sawfly Larva – Flickr – treegrow.jpg]]}} (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Papilio machanon Caterpillar on leaf” By Simon Eugster – Simon / ?! 13:06, 14 October 2007 (UTC) – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia