Caliroa cerasi
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Caliroa cerasi is a species of sawfly belonging to the family Tenthredinidae. The larva of this insect are commonly referred to as the pear slug or cherry slug and are a nearly worldwide agricultural pest. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. The pear slug is an important pest that eats leaves of cherry, pear, plum and hawthorn trees, leaving behind a skeleton of veins. The larvae cover themselves in green slime, making themselves unpalatable to predators. They molt between five and eight times before being fully grown. When the larvae are fully grown, they drop from the tree to the ground and pupate underground. The adult sawfly emerges from the pupal case and climbs from the soil to mate and lays eggs on the leaves of the host plant, completing the life cycle.
Other sources dispute the notion that the females climb the tree to lay their eggs, claiming instead that they fly to the tree. This is an important detail in regard to their control in horticultural circumstances where glues are used to control climbing pests.
In New Zealand the biocontrol agent species Lathrolestes luteolator has been released on two separate occasions in an attempt to control this agricultural pest. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hobart | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 4 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 5 | Melbourne | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cherry Slug Sawfly sighting in Birmingham on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 563rd most-seen of the 811 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August to October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cherry Slug Sawfly in Birmingham on a given day, against under 5% in November to July, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cherry Slug Sawfly sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Cherry Slug Sawfly sightings, Birmingham ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Hobart (Australia, about 10%).
Same family: Tenthredinidae
The closest relatives of the Cherry Slug Sawfly that you can see in Birmingham (family Tenthredinidae, Common Sawflies) are Willow Redgall Sawfly (about 10%), Red-Belted Cleaver (about 10%) and Turnip Sawfly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cherry Slug Sawfly is recorded against all the insects logged in Birmingham (8 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
