In one of those wow moments, one in which you had more than your smart phone to take a picture, I happened upon a wondrous sight. These little guys might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you might just have to admit they’re still pretty cool… check out these colorful larvae:
They are by gosh purple, and while they are caterpillar-like, they are not actually caterpillars. They are the larvae of certain sawflies, which are in the Order Hymenoptera (along with ants, bees, and wasps). They were munching on Indian Mallow down near Onion Creek.
I have Indian Mallow (Abutilon fruticosum) growing wild in my backyard — I’m going to have to keep an eye on the plants for potential sawfly larvae there, too. Why? Because they are so very cool… and purple! Apparently they are not a common sight — I feel very fortunate indeed to have spotted them. Purple! Nature rocks.
Very neat. A new creature for me. Thanks for sharing.
It was new even to our local entomologist, Marilyn. I feel very lucky to have seen the species.
In the second photo, looks like that leaf is nearly “dripping” with them! Wow! Thanks so much for spying them for us.
Vicki, it was definitely interesting to see that they were congregating together, the way some larvae do. Others stay far apart.
I saw these a few years ago in my garden. I eventually figured out they were sawfly larvae, too, but had a lot of problems doing so. I think it was bugguide.net that finally came through, but even those folks weren’t very specific.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/794287
I just came across some of these purple larvae on Abutilon fruticosum this morning in the Great Hills section of Austin. Thanks to your post, I now know what the critters are.
I found some on my Velvetleaf Mallow just last week, Steve. I was downright giddy!
So glad I didn’t let my builder scrap the backyard here in Cedar Park. I too have Indian Mallow growing wild and discovered these cobalt blue beauties in my back yard.
2015 was definitely a good year for them, Tamara. Glad you got to see them!
After doing some research, discovered the saw fly larva is not that color naturally and it is believed to be the result of what they ate. Which makes me wonder if Indian Mallow is a natural dye that would create that color. Let the experimenting begin!
Let me know what you discover! I’ve read that, too, but haven’t done any additional investigating.