Those little white butterflies might look cute flitting through your garden, and they may deceive you that they are friendly pollinators when they stop by your lavender to take a sip. But if you are growing broccoli, kale, cabbage or any other cruciferous veggies, if you saw the butterflies, you will more than likely experience the next generation of those cute butterflies as very hungry caterpillars!
Usually called cabbage lupers, there are a number of white butterflies that are green-veggie-munching caterpillars when they are young. Depending on where you live, you might have the Great Southern White Butterfly, European Cabbage Butterfly or another similar species.
This pest can be easily managed without chemical sprays by just plucking the caterpillars off your crops. If you start to notice small holes evolving into large holes on your cool season crops, look along the tops or bottoms of the most damaged leaves for a little green caterpillar. They are what they eat, and will usually be camouflaged the same color as the leaf they were just munching. When you find one, it’s up to you on how you want to dispose of it, but we find it is a welcome addition to the bird feeder!
More tips on proactive pest control can be found at our Podcast page here.