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A friend of mine saw 4 large plain grey "caterpillars" eating apple in her garden. When disturbed, they buried themselves in her flower border. She has no photos, but asked me what they were. I haven't got a clue.
Any offers? Many thanks.

Sorry Denise, I think you have everyone stumped.

Just one question, was it eating apple fruit or leaves? I am guessing that it must have been some sort of moth caterpillar but it is only a wild guess.

Could have been grubs of some description. Just an idea, to sow a seed of thought for one of you knowledgeable folk.

nick

Hi Denise,

A couple of questions and a suggestion.

Firstly, from your post I surmise that the apples were on the ground along with a good number of fallen apple leaves as well? Secondly, were the ‘caterpillars’ definitely eating the apple leaves or fruit or could they have just been crawling amongst them?

I think your friend may have seen Crane Fly larvae. The larvae of Tipula paludosa for example, which is a very common species, match your friend’s description of a ‘large plain grey caterpillar’. As a plant root feeder they live in the soil though will occasionally be seen above ground. I have seen them in their hundreds before and recall an instance when a school playing field was covered in them after a sustained period of rain - their underground galleries having been flooded out. I don’t personally have any pictures of Crane Fly larvae otherwise I would have posted one, though a quick search in Google will bring you plenty of images.

If they were eating apple fruit or leaves my suggestion as to what they might be is incorrect.

I hope this helps?

Kind regards. Mark

Many thanks Susie, Nick and Mark.

My friend said that she picked up some fallen apples and found the four "caterpillars" eating the rotting (bruised) apple. She put the apple in her flower border and they immediately buried themselves in the dirt.
My initial response was Crane Fly, as I have seen these in my garden, but she was adamant they they were moths.
Thank you for your help

The way you describe them makes it sound as though they move faster than caterpillars. Could they have been millipedes, which are plant feeders and plant scavengers?

Guy

Whoops - I just saw your last comment - that she was adamant they were moths. That means millipedes are out.

the yellow underwing moth caterpillar hides underground during the day and comes out at night but i found 5 eating in the same place during the day, the only problem is they are more of an all over brown not grey so i think you should google them and show your friend.
p.s they were very fast aswell probably traveling a foot every 20 - 30 seconds