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Columbine Sawfly

Pristiphora rufipes[3]

The columbine sawfly is a small sawfly whose leaf-green larvae eat columbine foliage in spring.[1][2]

Group
Insect
Order
Hymenoptera
Family
Tenthredinidae
US records
23 states
Sources
3 cited
Updated
2026-10-16
Green columbine sawfly larva feeding along a columbine leaf edge
Green columbine sawfly larva feeding along a columbine leaf edge. (c) ahabo, some rights reserved (CC BY) — via iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0
On this page
  1. Identification
  2. Look-alikes
  3. Where it lives
  4. Biology
  5. Damage and signs
  6. Health risk
  7. Control
  8. Related profiles
  9. Common questions
  10. Sources

How to identify it

  • Larvae are green with dark heads, the same color as the leaves, and grow to about 1/2 inch; they often feed on leaf undersides.[1]
  • Adults are about 1/4 inch, wasp-like with no waist, mostly black with whitish head markings and pale orange legs.[1]

Look-alikes

Look-alikeHow to tell them apart
Columbine leafminerThe other common columbine pest; its maggots tunnel inside the leaves instead of eating them from the edge.[1]

Where it lives

A European species first found in North America in Ottawa in 1963 and in New York in 1985; it has spread west to Minnesota.[1][2]

US map: public records from 23 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

Females lay eggs on leaves in late spring; larvae are active from about April to June and drop off to pupate in brown cocoons in the leaf litter.[1][2]

There is one generation a year.[1]

Damage and signs

  • Larvae start at leaf edges and eat inward until only the main veins remain, and can defoliate plants.[1][2]
  • Damage is mostly cosmetic: even fully defoliated plants usually leaf out again within a few weeks.[1]

Health risk

None to people or pets.[1][2]

Control

Sanitation

If most leaves are gone, cut the plant to the ground and destroy the remains.[1]

Traps and physical control

Inspect plants in spring and pick or knock larvae into soapy water.[1]

Pesticides

Insecticidal soap kills small larvae it covers; Bt does not work because sawflies are not true caterpillars.[1]

Common questions

What stripped my columbine overnight?
Often columbine sawfly larvae, which are leaf-green and easy to miss.[1][2]
Will Bt kill sawflies?
No; Bt targets true caterpillars, and sawfly larvae are not caterpillars.[1]

Sources

  1. University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension, “Common Columbine Pests: Columbine Leafminer and Columbine Sawfly.” hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/common-columbine-pests-columbine-leafminer-and-columbine-sawfly/ (accessed 2026-10-16)
  2. University of Minnesota Extension (What insect is this?), “Columbine sawfly.” apps.extension.umn.edu/garden/diagnose/insect/garden/caterpillars/medium/columbinesawfly.html (accessed 2026-10-16)
  3. iNaturalist, “Pristiphora rufipes taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/447107 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-16. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.