We think the wildlife of West Ardnamurchan is absolutely wonderful - but there are limits. Our gooseberry crop was doing just fine until a passing moth or butterfly laid a few eggs, and the resulting caterpillars began work.
Not content with stripping the bushes of almost all their leaves - so quickly we didn't notice what as happening - they set about eating the gooseberries as well.
I think it might be the magpie moth - Abraxas grossulariata, which certainly feeds on gooseberry plants. The shiny black head is the giveaway - though I will stand corrected if I am proven to be wrong! Ours have certainly been eaten by some thing similar, though we haven't managed to see the culprits yet. It doesn't seem to have affected the fruits, though - what does one do with over 40 lbs. of gooseberries
Many thanks for sorting me out on this. I apologise that the comments can't be posted immediately - I'm having trouble with spam comments, so they have to be moderated.
We, too, were lucky with the fruit - we've had another good year for all our soft fruits, particularly strawberries.
Could it be gooseberry sawfly? We have had them on our gooseberries here in Anglesey.
ReplyDeleteNematus ribesii. Common name gooseberry sawfly.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nematus_ribesii
What a pity.
Horrid thing.
Sheila.
Gooseberry Sawfly Moth. I know, they got all mine last year. I was more vigilant this year and squished them while they were still tiny.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably the gooseberry sawfly. They eat every leaf on currants and josterberries too.
ReplyDeleteI think it might be the magpie moth - Abraxas grossulariata, which certainly feeds on gooseberry plants. The shiny black head is the giveaway - though I will stand corrected if I am proven to be wrong! Ours have certainly been eaten by some thing similar, though we haven't managed to see the culprits yet. It doesn't seem to have affected the fruits, though - what does one do with over 40 lbs. of gooseberries
ReplyDeleteAlthough they look like caterpillars, they are actually gooseberry sawfly larvae (Nematus ribesii).
ReplyDeleteIt's a gooseberry sawfly.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for sorting me out on this. I apologise that the comments can't be posted immediately - I'm having trouble with spam comments, so they have to be moderated.
ReplyDeleteWe, too, were lucky with the fruit - we've had another good year for all our soft fruits, particularly strawberries.
Jon