Flickr photographer pbertner captured some photos of Sawfly Larva (belonging to suborder Symphyta) which are exceptionally cute, in my opinion. They look like big mushy gummy bears… in caterpillar-esque form. While the larva of the sawfly does resemble baby butterflies, they are different in that they have six or more pairs of prolegs on the abdomen (caterpillars have 5 or fewer) and they have two eyes instead of the caterpillar’s six.
All in all, I suppose I’m still more of a fan of caterpillars. However, these guys make a convincing case for me to think otherwise…
adult sawfly
