Close encounter

Because, I suppose, of the recent wet weather the slugs and snails have been active everywhere.  The other day I spotted this tree slug (Limax maculatus) slithering slowly up a sallow wand.  Eventually it progressed onto a leaf already occupied by larvae of the sawfly Nematus pavidus.

The caterpillars kept flicking up their tails to discourage the slug, which quite quickly turned tail and headed into a less crowded area.