Cabbage White Butterfly

Hi, my name is:

Describe yourself: I am quite a striking white butterfly, with two lovely grey/black spots on my wings. I'm probably the most common butterfly in your home garden. In my youthful (but destructive) days, I am a silky, blue-green colour... very attractive, if I say so myself!

Hobbies: I love laying eggs all over your plants and watching my beautiful larvae destroy your garden!

Likes: Cabbages, broccoli, brussel sprouts, chinese cabbages, cauliflower, celery, beetroot, rocket and watercress.

Dislikes: Really smelly herbs, like dill, sage and coriander. I can't stand other Cabbage White Butterflies on my turf! My larvae hate birds, being handpicked off plants, Assassin Bugs, Green Mantids, Paper Wasps, Lacewings and Ladybirds. I hate insecticidal soaps (like home made chilli soap), or store bought stuff (check out the SGA info page for some low environmental impact ones). I can't stand Bacillius thuringiensis bacteria... this stuff makes me sick!

You'll know you've met me when: My larvae munch through the leaves of your favourite cabbage (and related) plants. They leave massive holes in the outer leaves, and heaps of delightful green poo around the place!

Old School Control Methods: Mavrik, Baythroid, Malathion, Lebaycid, Carbaryl

If you want to dump me, you could try to:

Spray your plants' leaves with water and knock me and my mates right off our perch!
Pay your neighbours kids to come round and wipe me off with a stick!
Collect me in a bucket and feed me to the chooks!
Encourage or release some of my well known enemies like Assasin Bugs, Lady Birds and Lacewings.
Release some Bacillius thuringiensis bacteria to kill me and all members of my family. (It hurts no others!) You can buy this pre-packaged in your local nursery
Cover your edible crops with fine mesh or similar. Then my beautiful mum can't land and lay her eggs.
Scatter eggshells around the garden... I get confused and lay my eggs on them!
Plant smelly herbs to confuse me such as sage, dill and coriander.

	Cabbage White Butterfly caterpillar having lunch.
	Typical damage by Cabbage White Butterfly larvae (caterpillar) on a member of the Brassicaceae family.
	Beneficial insects, like this green mantis, love to munch on Cabbage White Butterflies (both young and adults)
	Assume the position! Cabbage White Butterfly caterpillars are often found hanging out on the veins of affected plants.
	The Cabbage White Butterfly in its attractive (and less destructive) adult form.

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