“I noticed these tiny, yellow worms in clusters on the tips of my daffodils (which have just started shooting from the bulb),” writes Desirée in her submission regarding the bright yellow organisms pictured below. “They look to have maybe newly hatched in the wet and seem to have been washed down the leaves when it rained, either into the plant or surrounding soil. Please see a close up of a cluster of the worms in a water drop. Could you please help with ID? I’m located in SE Victoria, Australia. Thanks for your help!” Now, although the pictures Desirée sent are quite blurry, we have arrived at an educated guess based on the context Desirée has provided. We think she has found daffodil fly larvae.

Daffodil flies, also known as Narcissus bulb flies (Narcissus being the genus of flowers commonly referred to as daffodils or jonquils), look like bees. They have furry, yellow bodies, and they even make a buzzing noise when they fly about. Some species even have stripes too. Unfortunately, unlike bees, which have a symbiotic relationship with flowers (flowers give bees nectar and pollen, and bees spread pollen to other flowers), daffodil flies are actually named after their negative relationship with the flower: they are pests. Specifically, as their proper name suggests, they attack the bulbs of the flowers. We do not mean the bulbs from which the flowers sprout at the tip of the plant, but the bulb from which the entire plant grows.

For that reason, it is somewhat strange that these worms were found near the bulb of the flower, as the flies typically lay their eggs near the base of the plant, near the bulb that is underground. After hatching, the larvae will dig into the bulb and start eating, thereby leading to the degradation of the flower’s health. Maybe the mother fly was confused and laid her eggs in the wrong spot, or maybe when she laid her eggs, the plant had not grown as much, so the cluster was closer to the bulb. That said, It is not only the location of the larvae that has us doubting our identification: daffodil fly larvae are typically a creamy white color, while the critters Desirée found are bright yellow like the flower. Naturally, there are various species of daffodil flies, so we should not ignore that fact. In any case, we do not have any better guesses as to what these could be, other than some type of caterpillar that also likes to munch on daffodils. In any case, we recommend that Desirée dig up the daffodils momentarily to check the bulbs. If there are signs of entry or rotting, it is likely that these are daffodil fly larvae. However, since flower bulbs have already grown, we think it is unlikely that — even if the creatures on the stem are daffodil fly larvae — an infestation has preceded the larvae Desirée, as their damage to the plant will typically hinder flower growth.

In conclusion, we think it is possible that Desirée found daffodil fly larvae on her daffodils, though we are not certain about this given the blurriness of the image, the color of the creatures, as well as the location in which they were found. We hope nonetheless that something here proves helpful to Desirée, and we wish her the very best.

Summary

Article Name

Yellow Worms on Daffodils Could be Narcissus Bulb Fly Larvae

Description

"I noticed these tiny, yellow worms in clusters on the tips of my daffodils (which have just started shooting from the bulb)," writes Desirée in her submission regarding the bright yellow organisms pictured below. "They look to have maybe newly hatched in the wet and seem to have been washed down the leaves when it rained, either into the plant or surrounding soil. Please see a close up of a cluster of the worms in a water drop. Could you please help with ID? I’m located in SE Victoria, Australia. Thanks for your help!" Now, although the pictures Desirée sent are quite blurry, we have arrived at an educated guess based on the context Desirée has provided. We think she has found daffodil fly larvae.

Author

Worm Researcher Anton