Potential gooseberry pest?

[Collierygarden]

Hi everyone,

It's my first year growing gooseberries - I have two different types, and just noticed that a couple of leaves on one bush only have been nibbled a little bit. Both bushes are next to each other, but one is so far unharmed. The damage is pretty minimal, and I'm yet to spot any caterpillars - what could be munching the leaves? Rouge slug? I took the following picture of a strange fly that seemed intent on sitting there while I got my phone camera in its face - is it a gooseberry sawfly? If not, can anyone help me identify it (even if it's not part of my gooseberry problem - I'm curious what this fearless thing is!)

Thanks!

[Collierygarden]

Oops - forgot to attach photo.

[WendyC]

Don't know what the fly is but do you have a photo of the damaged leaves?

[Collierygarden]

Just taken one - attached.

The damaged ones are few and far between, but I'd like to stop any potential problem before it starts

Thanks!

[mothhawk]

Yep, that's a sawfly - not actually a fly, as flies don't have antennae. It's a green sawfly, not a gooseberry sawfly, which are a browny black "fly" colour.

Green Sawfly - Rhogogaster viridis - UK Safari

[mothhawk]

Its caterpillars will probably scoff all the gooseberry leaves just the same

[Collierygarden]

Thanks Mothhawk - at least I'll know to look extra hard for caterpillars now that there's a potential culprit!

[Nicos]

Keep a very close eye on them- the caterpillars can strip a bush completely in 2-3 days!

[chefgage]

you need to be out every day looking for the caterpillars as they are very hungry fellas. One year I did not check for a few days and they completly stripped two bushes. This was after the fruit had been harvested though (think the caterpillars were a bit lazy in starting eating). This year I have just the one bush that has been attacked, the gooseberries on this one are pitifully small although supposidly this is because of the damage caused the previous year.

Although fairly expensive I find that using nematodes in the form of nemasys - 'grow your own' is quite effective at stopping them them.

[BUFFS]

I put some cut open tough plastic shopping bags under a bush, covering all below foliage, and smeared with some cooking oil, and get a fairly stout piece of stick/cane and "rattle the branches to dislodge the maggots, they fall and the oil stops them rolling away, this wont get all of them but most, and look under the leaves where they like to hide, I have stopped a big load of maggots stripping a large bush successfully using this method and the local small chick-feeding birds love them so its a win win situation...