Caterpillar from Japan leaves on leaves, the mark of Zorro
It now threatens the trees in Russia.
Upstairs
Elm Sawfly-zigzag — caterpillar from Japan, which has spread in Europe over the last 15 years. Its characteristic feature — a zigzag trail that caterpillar gnaws the leaves of elm.
4,793 Species: Zigzag Elm Sawfly (Aproceros leucopoda), lots of feeding signs (some with active larvae) today by Thetford Tesco’s pic.twitter.com/st5qp3w0kl
— Andy Musgrove (@andymus1) 10 on July 2018 R.
Aproceros leucopoda is a serious threat to trees. They can lose up to 70-98% of the leaf and subsequently dying.
The natural habitat of elm Sawfly — Japan East China, the Korean Peninsula and the Russian far East. For Europe, including European part of Russia — it’s an invasive species, meaning it has spread here as a result of human activities.
Aproceros leucopoda de Larva que se alimenta de una hoja del olmo. https://t.co/ASTkaHML5x pic.twitter.com/UjDdpxeyl2
— Begoña Marco (@pilarbego) quina 17, 2015.
For the first time, Aproceros leucopoda was discovered in 2003 in Hungary and Poland. After a few years it spread in Romania, in the East of Ukraine, Austria, Slovakia, Italy. In Russia the mysterious Zorro found in 2010 on Kuban. In 2017 began to sound the alarm in the UK.
Aproceros leucopoda Takeuchi #Merikülas. Vaatleja Vello Kepparthttps://t.co/4cpq8JTFIb#insect #putukad #estonia #eesti #entomology #nature pic.twitter.com/ogcnZbNDwJ
— eElurikkus (@elurikkus) 11 September, 2017 R.
Elm Sawfly gives 4 generations per year. The female lays about 50 eggs at the edge of the leaves of the elm. After 4-8 days of them hatch into larvae and begin to eat the leaves, forming a zigzag pattern. After two weeks of intensive feeding, the larvae begin to pupate. The pupal stage lasts 4-5 days, and then from the cocoon, the imago appears.
The invasive alien zigzag elm sawfly (Aproceros leucopoda) is native to East Asia. Thanks to @TheBotanics and #CitizenScience it has been confirmed in the UK https://t.co/E6s46DACPe pic.twitter.com/9Ap42Erdzb
— Woodland Trust (@WoodlandTrust) on 23 June 2018 R.
Adult Aproceros leucopoda is a small black or dark-grey fly, with bright, yellowish or pale green, feet. Sometimes breast elm Sawfly has an orange color.
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