The cabbage butterfly is familiar to everyone from childhood and is associated with spring - as soon as the sun begins to warm the earth well, these insects appear. Because of the color - white with black specks - it is also called white.
However, this butterfly does not make everyone happy - these seemingly harmless beautiful insects cause great harm to crops, therefore its appearance for gardeners and gardeners is an alarming signal. How to save the crop from these pests and how to prevent the appearance of cabbage plants in your garden?
Description and photo
This beautiful pest is the most common. in Eastern Europe and Africa.
Butterfly size varies from 50 to 60 mm, wings white, with black spots. Superficially resembles a repn, only larger than her. The nature of the flight of the butterfly is uneven, landing, it immediately folds its wings, and due to the yellowish color of the lower part of the wings, it remains imperceptible to birds. The habitat of the insect is meadows and fields, especially, as the name implies, crops of cabbage and other cruciferous plants.
What eats butterfly cabbage soup? In addition to cabbage, the butterfly spoils radish, rapeseed, radish, horseradish, turnip, sometimes nasturtium, capers and garlic also suffer from it.
Cabbage butterfly larvae pupate under the ground. The butterfly is considered a malicious pest - only one individual may lay about 300 larvae by average, and under favorable conditions, up to 600. After the caterpillars of the moths manage their work in the garden, the leaves of cabbage are more like lace.
A photo:
Pupae and caterpillars
Cabbage women spend the winter in the pupae, from where they get out in April - May, when the warm sunny weather rests outside. Butterflies lay eggs of a cone-shaped yellow color on cabbage leaves and other cruciferous ones, as well as on weeds. Soon caterpillars of bright yellow color appear, 4 cm in length, with 16 legs. Over time, as they grow, they change color to green, with a tinge of blue, with dots of yellow and black on the sides and back.
How much does a butterfly cabbage woman live? The small cabbage caterpillars hide on the undersides of the leaves, gnaw the leaves in the middle, then move in groups to the outside and begin to nibble the leaves from the edges. The bright coloring scares the birds away, warning that insects are poisonous. Caterpillars live for several weeks, during this time molt about 3-4 times.
As soon as the caterpillars eat off and grow to 40 mm, they leave the gnawed plants and move to fences, dry branches, bark, walls of the buildings where they pupate. Already from these pupae new butterflies appear, and the second wave of invasion of these pests to the gardens begins.
How to protect the garden from the appearance of the pest?
Usually, during the warm period, the cabbage tree has two generations time to live, in the south - three.
After the first butterflies emerge from the overwintered pupae, and they, in turn, lay eggs, it takes several months.
During this time, the caterpillars grow, the process of pupation takes place and in July a second generation of cabbage makers appears. If the season is warm - then the pests linger until October, managing to live through the third cycle.
Butterflies hibernate in crevices and dark corners of garden buildings, in fences, can climb under the bark of old trees, on dry branches of bushes. Before the butterflies leave their shelters, it is necessary to clean the trunks of trees, inspect barns and sheds, flush the fence and walls of the buildings with a strong jet of water from an irrigation hose. Pupae of yellowish butterflies
It is necessary to remove cruciferous weeds from the entire territory of the vegetable garden and garden in a timely manner. For example, a shepherd's bag, a colza and a yarutka really like this insect.
What does a cabbage soup butterfly eat? To prevent damage the whole crop when cabbage appears, it is necessary to plant radishes, gulfs, turnips, cabbage and radish separately from each other. But next to it you can plant marigolds, valerian, lemon balm, carrots, parsley and dill - they do not like the white butterfly very much and will serve as a deterrent.
In addition to the cabbage butterfly, other insect pests also threaten the garden. Here are the main ones: tomato moth, carrot fly, whitefly aphid, hedgehog, earwig, pine sawfly, slugs, Colorado potato beetle, spider mite, peppered moth.What to do if he settled in the garden?
Virtually no precautions will protect you from butterflies, which will fly to you from someone else's garden. What to do if these dangerous insects are noticed?
In small areas of crops you can destroy the pests manually and use popular methods.
- If the area of planting is small, then with regular inspection, you can manually collect the laid eggs of cabbages and hatched caterpillars of cabbages. Usually they can be found on the bottom of the sheet. Often, in addition to the above-described cone-shaped yellow testicles, ovoid lumps similar to cotton wool can be found next to them - no need to touch them. Soon riders, enemies of cabbage moths and gardeners' helpers will hatch from them.
- Fallen butterflies in the garden can be lured with thick syrup with yeast, spilling it into plates or lids and placing traps near cabbage and other cruciferous.
- To prevent the butterflies from laying eggs can frequent mosquito net, which is necessary to hide the beds.
- Cabbage soup is well helped by herbal extracts, which you need to spray vegetables about once a week.
Broths for processing they are usually prepared simply, and the ingredients can be found in the garden or in the nearest store.
- One of the simplest solutions is to mix valerian tincture (1 bottle) and three liters of water;
- For the second recipe, one will need sifted ash, 0.5 l. It is necessary to stir it in a bucket of boiled water, and after the solution has settled in - drain the clear liquid, add 2 tablespoons of liquid soap and mix well;
- from burdock, yarrow and wormwood can be cooked effective decoction. To do this, pour boiling water over the plants 1: 3 and insist for several days. It remains only to strain and spray the culture.
With the defeat of large areas by the pest, as well as with a large population of insects, you can use chemical preparations. Good solutions are such as "Karbofos", "Fitoverm", "Bitoxibacillin", "Kinmiks", "Aktellik", "Lepidotsid".
Bacterial drugs, such as "Fitoverm" can be used throughout the development of vegetables, and finish just before harvesting.
Cabbage Butterflies Every year they attack gardens and crops - however, having learned how to carry out preventive measures correctly, and also choosing the method of processing vegetables that is most effective in a particular case, you should not worry about the crop when a pest appears.
Not only butterflies and other insects can cause irreparable harm to your plantings. On our site you can find useful information about other pests of the garden.Read all about wild rats, shrew, moles, bats and mice, gophers, wild hamsters. And also about ways to combat wireworm, locust, whitefly, sawfly and carrot fly.
