Eggs for ID

goosey · #1 (**permalink**) 29-06-2011, 01:00 PM

I was wondering, does anyone think these are Lepidopteran or something else?
They are on a leaf of the Nicotiana affinis, I bought it as it is meant to be an attracter of moths though I have never seen moths on it.
Thanks.

goosey · #2 (**permalink**) 09-07-2011, 12:44 PM

The eggs darkened yesterday so was on the look out for hatching. This morning around 8am there seemed no change to them. By 11.15am two had hatched and I had completely missed one and couldn't see it. But I was lucky to see this one.
I still have no idea what they are though!

Pudding4brains · #3 (**permalink**) 09-07-2011, 01:17 PM

Howdy,

Well, I didn't bring my binoculars to the PC

but from a distance it seems this might well be a Sawfly larva ?

Cheers, Arp

goosey · #4 (**permalink**) 09-07-2011, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pudding4brains

Howdy,

Well, I didn't bring my binoculars to the PC

but from a distance it seems this might well be a Sawfly larva ?

Cheers, Arp

Cheeky so and so, binoculars indeed

!
These are soooooooo tiny, the eggs are probably only about 1/2mm big, certainly less than 1mm. Is that too small for lepidoptera eggs

? White butterfly eggs are bigger but maybe micro moth eggs are that small - I have no idea.
I have seen sawfly larvae which are tiny but those are always in large groups.

Seeing as I can now

, I have made a mini collage so I could crop more - not sure that it helps though!

Pudding4brains · #5 (**permalink**) 10-07-2011, 12:03 PM

Hi Goosey,

Not all Sawflies lay their eggs in clusters and not all clusters stay together - it's mostly that the gregarian larvae are much easier to spot, especially when still this small.

That said, I'm not saying this is definitely a Sawfly larva, just that it somewhat looks like one to me (biggish globular head etc) - but I really don't know Sawfly-larvae nor Lepidopterans so that's all just me being too vocal about things I don't know the first thing about once again

Cheers, Arp