Pear and Cherry Slug
A common pest in South Australia attacking Pears, Cherries, Plums, Hawthorns, Apples, Crabapples and Quinces.
The adult is a black sawfly approximately 8mm long. Eggs are laid inside the leaf and after hatching the lavae grow to approx 10mm long. The larvae are dark green and slimy.
They feed on the upper surface of the leaf until only a skeleton of the leaf veins remain. When fully fed, the larvae drop to the ground and burrow into the soil where they pupate. The adult pushes out of the soil and flies to the leaves.
