Is cabbage white butterfly a pest?
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An unassuming, small, white butterfly is among the world’s most invasive pests affecting crops like cabbage, kale and broccoli.
What do cabbage whites do?
The Cabbage White butterfly eats cabbage when its still in its caterpillar stage. As an adult butterfly it eats nectar from flowers. In captivity you can feed it sugar water. You can feed the caterpillars with leaves of cabbage, this can be green cabbage, red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, Bok Choy or kale.
Why is the cabbage white butterfly a problem?
Damage: Adult butterflies do not cause any damage to plants. Large white larvae (yellow and black patterned caterpillars) will destroy small brassica plants and severely damage larger plants. Large infestations can often defoliate whole brassica crops if left untreated.
What does cabbage white like to eat?
Cabbage white caterpillars are known to chew on members of the cabbage family, including broccoli and mustard plants.
Are white cabbage butterflies good?
It’s not correctly called a cabbage white, but because its favourite host plant for laying eggs are cabbages and because the adults are white, it has acquired this name. Cabbage white butterflies are still butterflies and great garden pollinators.
How do you keep cabbage white butterflies away?
Cover plants with horticultural fleece or fine netting to prevent butterflies reaching the leaves. Check plants regularly and pick off any caterpillars that do make it through. Grow nasturtiums as a sacrificial crop and move eggs and caterpillars from your brassicas to the nasturtium leaves.
Where do cabbage white butterflies overwinter?
Once fully grown, the larvae will move away from the food plants and make their way to somewhere sheltered such as a fence, shed wall, or tree trunk, and pupate for around two weeks in summer, or eight weeks for overwintering pupae, so it’s a good idea to check these areas and remove any you find.
Where do cabbage white caterpillars pupate?
Cabbage moth pupates and overwinters in the soil and cabbage white butterfly larvae pupate on suitable vertical surfaces above ground level. Diamond back pupae can be found on the plant in a loose silk cocoon.
Do cabbage white caterpillars lay eggs?
The Small Cabbage White butterfly is white with a pale green tinge on the underside of their wings and grey-black spots on the upper wings. It has a wingspan of approximately 3-4.5cm. The butterfly will lay single, pale yellow eggs The caterpillars are a pale green colour and are covered in short, velvet-like hairs.
How do I get rid of white cabbage caterpillars?
Organic. Cover plants with horticultural fleece or fine netting to prevent butterflies reaching the leaves. Check plants regularly and pick off any caterpillars that do make it through. Grow nasturtiums as a sacrificial crop and move eggs and caterpillars from your brassicas to the nasturtium leaves.