Cloudy with showers.
A routine survey of the hedge revealed a great deal of Wasp activity as they flew in and out of their nest. I had to stand on the flight-path to get this shot. Not a comfortable place to be.
A glance at the 'sawfly' Willow revealed the eggs of Nematus pavidus - the sawfly that appears about this time of year. Take a good look at the slots in the leaf to the left of the eggs. These are made by the female's saw, and are used to anchor the eggs in place. You can just make out the darker heads of the larvae inside the eggs.
Once the larvae have hatched, they eat the egg-shells. Note the pale, recently-hatched larva at left of centre.
It appears that the first skin is shed on day 1, or say 2 at the latest. The skins are the grey bits spread round this image: Note that they split at the head, which explains why some of the larvae I have photographed seem to have larger heads than others.
A shot of some 2nd instar larvae, showing the extensive leaf damage.
As I was watching and photographing the larvae, a familiar Ichneumonid arrived on the scene and started to hunt around....stay tuned....