Cherry Slug Sawfly

Cherry Slug Sawfly

Caliroa cerasi

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at San Francisco

In 3 days ~10%

11 Verified sightings at San Francisco
5 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
July Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Cherry Slug Sawfly

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 →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Hobart 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
2 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
3 Copenhagen 🇩🇰 Denmark
<5%
4 Helsinki 🇫🇮 Finland
<5%
5 Melbourne 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
6 Calgary 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
7 San Francisco 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Cherry Slug Sawfly in San Francisco?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cherry Slug Sawfly sighting in San Francisco on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 458th most-seen of the 737 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Cherry Slug Sawfly in San Francisco?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cherry Slug Sawfly in San Francisco on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Cherry Slug Sawfly?

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.

Is San Francisco the best place to see a Cherry Slug Sawfly?

7th of 7

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Cherry Slug Sawfly sightings, San Francisco ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Hobart (Australia, about 10%), Birmingham (United Kingdom, under 5%) and Copenhagen (Denmark, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Cherry Slug Sawfly live in San Francisco?

Same order: Hymenoptera

The closest relatives of the Cherry Slug Sawfly that you can see in San Francisco (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Black-Tailed Bumble Bee (about 10%), Argentine Ant (about 10%) and European Paper Wasp (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Cherry Slug Sawfly sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Cherry Slug Sawfly is recorded against all the insects logged in San Francisco (11 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.

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