Cabbage White Caterpillars

Chewing larvae of cabbage white butterflies causing holes and skeletonised brassica leaves.

Cabbage white caterpillars (Pieris brassicae and P. rapae) attack brassicas in field and protected production. Larvae chew large holes and can rapidly skeletonise leaves, contaminating crops with frass. Biological control includes Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) products, entomopathogenic nematodes and egg parasitoids such as Trichogramma brassicae, combined with netting and removal of heavily infested plants.