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The larva of an insect, eg, maggot, caterpillar.

Leatherjackets are the larvae of crane flies, or daddy-longlegs. The female fly lays up to 300 eggs in the lawn in late-summer. These hatch after a couple of weeks into grey-black, legless larvae that have a tough, leathery skin, hence the name 'leatherjacket'. From autumn throug...

Refers to the post-embryonic stage in the development of an insect, before its metamorphosis into an adult. Examples are a caterpillar, grub or maggot. The larval stage is generally the most destructive period in the insect life cycle.

A grub, the larva of small flies and some moths, which tunnels into the leaves of plants. Damage to the leaves takes the form of a pattern of semi-transparent lines or pale, blistered patches.

an egg into the acorn, it alsoinjects a cocktail of chemicals that causes the acorn's growth to be interrupted. Then as the grub feeds inside it too secretes chemicals thatalter the normal development of the acorn forcing it to grow into the knopper

kept finding adult weevils in my flat and I had nightmares about their grubs munching through the roots of my beloved plants.I used some nematodes to kill the grubs, then spent a couple of weekends frantically inspecting pots for signs of grubs and eggs

. After a week they hatch into reddish-brown maggot-like grubs, and feed on the same parts of the plant as the parents. Possibly to deter predators or disguise themselves, the larvae cover themselves in their own wet, black excrement.Lily leaves

one carefully constructed from one cut-out circle of foliage. Inside will have been eggs laid by the leafcutter bee, along with a store of nectar and pollen for the emerging grubs to feed on (we didn't dare look in case we disturbed them).We carefully

green beetles and their and fat, black grubs.Mint is a prolific plant, so there's no need to control the beetles. If you're worried, you could try growing pennyroyal, Mentha pulegium as a sacrificial crop, or simply remove beetles and larvae by hand

, and is able to colonise new areas by producing seed.Spreading perennial plant that produces mats of foliage. Easily recognised by pretty, small, white-petalled flowers with a round yellow centre.Dig or grub out daisies from lawns using an old kitchen knife