Diagnosing cabbage white butterfly

Larvae of cabbage white butterfly are often found in canola crops. The larvae consume leaves but numbers are very rarely high enough to cause serious damage to the crop.

Cabbage white butterfly caterpillar
Cabbage white butterfly pupa
Cabbage white butterfly adult

What to look for

    Plant

  • Large irregular holes chewed in leaves.
  • Seldom feed on floral parts of the plant when foliage is available.

    Insect Nymph

  • Velvety green caterpillar up to 30mm long with a pale yellow stripe down the back.

    Insect Adult

  • Large moths with 30-40mm wingspan and predominantly white with black wingspots and markings.

Management strategies

Spraying foliar
Spraying foliar
  • Cabbage white butterfly is not an economic problem of canola but can be controlled with foliar insecticides.
Source URL: https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/mycrop/diagnosing-cabbage-white-butterfly
This print version was generated at 9:19pm on the 8th of May, 2024.
The original document was last revised at Mon, 01/05/2017 - 12:14pm

Error

Important disclaimer

The Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the State of Western Australia accept no liability whatsoever by reason of negligence or otherwise arising from the use or release of this information or any part of it.