Just what is under this gooseberry bush ?

Oh Julia what a shame ,its Gooseberry Sawfly I'm afraid its to late to stop it now the only way you can treat it is at the first signs of trouble at the beginning of May with a spray apparently the Sawfly can have up to 4 broods a year which often means a second spraying in the season but I'm guessing like us your not keen on using sprays I'm off outside to look at mine ! I actually saw something very similar on our birch trees one year I'm not sure if they were the same !

It looks dreadful now and you've obviously lost this year's crop but the bush will recover. Strange how it happens some years and not others. You can sometimes catch it early if you are lucky enough to see a brood just hatched - they appear on single leaves and spread out later so if you remove the leaves with them on that sorts it.

You can use a nematode biological control on the caterpillar which is available in the UK. I will PM the name of it to you.

Thanks for the empathy , all .
I'm feeling quite put out that I didn't notice it before .
I had heard of saw fly , but never had an "attack " before .
Should I treat it now , Stera , and kill them all off ?
My ceononthas ( can't spell it) looks like it has been invaded by something too , I'll put a pic on tomorrow .
The blossom is lovely , but the leaves look all mangled .

This happened to me. I got some combined Sawfly and other pests spray from Wilkinsons. Should have given 4
doses 6 weeks apart. Then again the next spring.
I gave up and dug them up.
When will we learn ?

Thanks Snoop and Diane , I will try the nematodes that Loosestrife recommends and see what happens .

The problem with sprays at this time of year is that the fruit has set. I've had a bad aphid attack this year but won't spray for that reason. Please let us know how you get on with the nematodes. Snoop the sawfly is specific to gooseberries so it won't spread to other things.