Peach Slug Sawfly vs Large Tortoiseshell

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Peach Slug Sawfly Large Tortoiseshell
Scientific Name Caliroa annulipes Nymphalis polychloros
Order Hymenoptera Lepidoptera
Family Tenthredinidae Nymphalidae
Size 4-6 mm 54-65 mm wingspan
Habitat Orchards Orchards
Diet Fruit Feeders Omnivores
Regions Europe Europe, North Africa, temperate Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern (extinct in Britain)

Peach Slug Sawfly

A small, shiny black sawfly whose slug-like larvae feed on the upper leaf surface of various fruit trees, including peach, cherry, and hawthorn.

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Did You Know?

Unlike the closely related pear slug, this species feeds primarily from the upper leaf surface rather than the lower surface.

Large Tortoiseshell

A large orange butterfly with dark spots resembling a scaled-up small tortoiseshell, once widespread in Britain but now effectively extinct there. It hibernates as an adult in tree hollows.

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Did You Know?

Its decline in Britain is thought to be linked to Dutch elm disease destroying its primary food plant.