Demolition job!

These sawfly larvae are back on a willow sappling in the garden. The shapes they make are fascinating as they wave their tails whilst munching away. If something appears to threaten them they all start waving backwards and forwards in unison, which does kind of give the impression of a much larger co-ordinated organism. The interesting thing is that this willow had quite a few larvae on it earlier in the summer, but the birds (I think) got them all. Either another batch of eggs were laid later, or some have delayed hatching to help ensure at least some survive this risky stage.