Question
What can I do to get rid of them without contaminating the milkweed under & next to my Norway Pines.  I raise Monarch butterflies & need safe Milkweed for my caterpillars.  I found 3 sawfly larva on my milkweed plant.  They are eating all of my beautiful pine needles...they are all over the pines but I didn't have any in all my 40 some years until last year when we planted 3 ash trees in the back yard.  My pines are in the front yard.  What can I do quickly?  The sawfly larva are really gross & I'm having around 75 - 100 people over for my son's graduation party in 2 days...That's this Saturday 6/21/08.  Please help.

Thank you,

Butterfly Susie
Anoka, MN

Answer
Depending on which sawfly you have most eat only the older needles and therefore will not kill the tree. There is not a insecticide that can be sprayed on the sawflies that will not also kill the caterpillars. You might use mechanical means. Sawflies are best controlled when young. Several options exist for control. A physical tactic is to simply pick them off by hand. Dislodging them with a stick or a stream of water also works. I assume the trees are too large to reach and hand pick but you might be able to spray water with enough strength to knock them loose. Sorry that is about the best i can suggest without harming the other caterpillars.