Bug FAQTurnip Sawfly
Athalia rosae · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Tenthredinidae
Also called: Turnip Tigress
The turnip sawfly larvae are dark green or blackish and measure about 18 to 25 mm, while adults are only 7 to 8 mm long and have mainly orange bodies. They spend the winter underground and emerge as adults in early summer, with adults feeding on nectar. They can sometimes be a pest, and they are often confused with the cabbage leaf sawfly or beet sawfly.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Adults are mainly orange in colour.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Larvae are 18 to 25 mm long and dark green or blackish. Adults are 7 to 8 mm long when they emerge.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
They can sometimes be a pest.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They overwinter below ground.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adult turnip sawflies feed on nectar.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The insect spends the winter underground and emerges as a small adult in early summer.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults appear in early summer.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 2 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New Hampshire, California.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
When do turnip sawflies appear?
They emerge as adults in early summer after overwintering underground.
Source: Wikipedia
What other insects look like the turnip sawfly?
They are often confused with the cabbage leaf sawfly or beet sawfly.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Tenthredinidae)
Willow Redgall SawflyEuura proxima
Yellow-spotted MacrophyaMacrophya montanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Saddleback Grass-cutterEutomostethus ephippiumDamages trees, gardens or crops
Cherry Slug SawflyCaliroa cerasi
Alder SawflyEriocampa ovataDamages trees, gardens or crops
Figwort sawflyTenthredo scrophulariaeDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athalia_rosae
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.