Larvae are gray/green with a black head and legs. They have a single, stripe down the back, two light green stripes and one dark green or black stripe on each side, and are about 3/4 – 1 inch as adults.
Saw fly larvae usually do not kill trees/plants because the new foliage is not eaten, but repeated striping of tree/plant can slow growth. Feeding on bark of new shoots may cause twigs to die but it is rarely serious enough to kill the whole tree/plant.