Diamondback Moth Caterpillar

Suddenly there is an abundance of these critters - on our Brussels sprouts. As you can see, they are only small but they eat together … and make a mess. 😖

The forked tail is a key identification feature. We thought the brassica damage was down to large white butterfly caterpillar, and they have certainly had a share - this is the large white butterfly’s caterpillar.

But now this tiny caterpillar gang seems to be the main culprit. It goes through four larval stages then pupates to adult in just 15-30days! It can produce 6 generations in one year! 😩 

The caterpillars we were finding today may pupate over Winter to emerge next May, but I hope something eats them before they reach that stage - I popped them over the hedge. If we have a cold Winter they probably won’t survive as they’re European migrants.

The caterpillars enjoy any brassica including mustard, kale and other bitter-tasting plants.

So, time to search those brassica plants! They often drop to the ground if disturbed but we found them mostly in the growing tip of our sprouts 🥺