- Identify the Solomon's seal sawfly
- Habitat and stages of development of the Solomon's seal sawfly
- Protect the Solomon's seal in the garden from the sawfly
The Solomon's seal is not only an attractive spring bloomer on many forest edges in nature, the poisonous ornamental plant is also grown in shady locations in some gardens. If feeding damage is suddenly discovered on the leaves of the "fragrant claret root", then the caterpillars of the Solomon's seal sawfly are usually to blame.

Identify the Solomon's seal sawfly
The adult specimens of the Solomon's seal sawfly look relatively inconspicuous and can sometimes be mistaken for flies due to their glossy black and smoky gray coloring. While these imagines do not cause any direct damage to the plants, the caterpillars in the larval stage pose a danger, as they sometimes only leave behind rib-like structures on the leaves of Solomon's Seal. The caterpillars are light gray-greenish or almost whitish in color, sometimes also a little bluish with increasing size. The caterpillars are visually relatively easy to identify by:
- a powdery wax coating
- black thoracic legs
- a round, black head capsule
Habitat and stages of development of the Solomon's seal sawfly
The adult specimens of this sawfly hatch in spring and fly around the host plants during the mating season from mid-April to mid-May. The females then lay their eggs in the stalks of Solomon's seal using a saw-like ovipositor. After the larvae hatch at the end of May, the growth phase of the rapidly developing caterpillars usually only lasts about 2 to 3 weeks. The larvae then pupate in a cocoon in a burrow before the cycle begins again the following spring. Since the Solomon's seal sawfly is very site-loyal, damage to the plants recurs without countermeasures being taken.
Protect the Solomon's seal in the garden from the sawfly
The caterpillars responsible for feeding damage to the leaves are often not discovered immediately, since they are mainly on the underside of the foliage when the sun is shining. In general, no chemical pesticides are needed if you simply collect the caterpillars with gloves. If individual stalks of your plant population show reddish discoloration, which indicates that the Solomon's seal sawfly was laying eggs, the affected parts of the plant can be cut off promptly and burned in a controlled manner.
tips
If you only notice individual feeding spots on a larger stock of Solomon's seal (Polygonatum odoratum), then countermeasures are not absolutely necessary. Affected plants are weakened, but do not automatically die as a result. Observing the Solomon's seal sawfly and its special defense strategy of "reflex bleeding" can be quite interesting for gardeners interested in insects.