black palmer

English

Noun

black palmer (plural black palmers)

1. (obsolete, colloquial) The larva of the turnip sawfly, an agricultural pest
   • 1839, G. Newport, “Essay on the Turnip Fly”, in The Farmer's Magazine, page 123:

     Mr. Wooldridge informed me, that on the first appearance of the insects, before he had himself observed them, one of his older neighbours remarked to him, that "the yellow flies which produce the black palmers were then abundant in the turnip fields;" […]

   • 1901, John Weathers, A Practical Guide to Garden Plants ...:

     The caterpillars of the Turnip Sawfly (Athalia spinarum) called ‘Niggers’ or ‘Black Palmers’ attack the leaves at a more advanced stage, and may be recognised by their dull yellow colour, and dense whitish short hairs.

Synonyms

• black canker, black jack, nigger