CLOSED: Bug, worm, or cat? (cont'd)

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mwperry Brandon, MS(Zone 8a) Aug 17, 2008

Here is a single, larger picture

Thumbnail by mwperry
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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Aug 17, 2008

This is an odd one - it superficially resembles an early instar pear slug (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) - see http://entomology.tfrec.wsu.edu/pearent/images/pear_slugs/2nd_small.jpg, but I am unaware of any member of this family feeding on parsley. On the other hand, it does not look at all like a first instar Papilio polyxenes (commonly found on parsley), or any syrphid fly larvae that I am familiar with.
Maybe Claypa can come up with something.

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kitten0115 La Vergne, TN Aug 17, 2008

It almost looks like a roseslug. Anyway it's a sawfly larvae

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mwperry Brandon, MS(Zone 8a) Aug 18, 2008

I, too, thought it resembled a pearslug but couldn't figure why a pearslug would be on parsley. Likewise, I thought the same about a roseslug. Perplexing.

The interesting thing was the tiny green ball it excreted and carried on it's back. It covered only a small portion of its back. If it was intended for protection or cameflouge, I don't see how that little ball could be effective unless, of course, it was toxic. I brushed the green ball away to see what it would do. Later I came back and it had exuded another identical green ball. BTW, I didn't trust raising it with my cats, so I tossed it in the trash.

Thanks for your efforts to id my bug "du jour"!

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claypa West Pottsgrove, PA(Zone 6b) Aug 18, 2008

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/891432/

Link to thread with more pics

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