While running in the rain I came across this group of sawfly larvae moving together en masse in the middle of the trail. I’m glad I spotted them, a misplaced foot could really have ruined their day!

This group of Steel Blue Sawfly Larvae was wriggling its way across a wet bush trail

I’ve seen these guys before, they are commonly known as spitfires due to their habit of regurgitating a thick yellow irritating fluid when they feel threatened. I stopped to take a few photos while my running partner caught up. She was a bit grossed out but fascinated too. I touched a few of them, they are soft and squishy, the hairs on their body are nowhere near as spiky as they look. When I got too close they would all start raising their tails and thumping them back to the ground, it was quite a sight! We said our goodbyes and left them where we found them, I hope they got where they were going to safely. See my previous post on Sawfly Larvae for more info.

Perga dorsalis

First up it’s not a caterpillar, it totally looks like one but it’s not! It took a bit of searching to find it’s actually a Steel Blue Sawfly Larvae. Sawflys are large flying insects that are closely related to wasps. Caterpillars on the other hand are the larvae of butterflies and moths. The Steel Blue Sawfly Larvae is commonly known as a “spitfire” or “spitfire caterpillar”.

A sawfly larvae, AKA spitfire, on my hand. Just after the photo it had a big “spit” of yucky yellow fluid onto my hand