Bulletin 151, Truck and Garden Insects


 CABBAGE LOOPER (Autographa brassicae).-This larva (fig.
 65, a) of a Noctuid moth is closely related to cutworms, which
 it resembles in general shape. It does not have the cutworm
 manner of feeding but
 works on the surface of
 the cabbage leaves both
 day and night. It in-
 jures the leaves by eat-
 ing holes in them and
 also damages the ap-
 pearance of the heads
 by soiling them with its
 ---- excrement. The cater-
 pillar is light green in
 color and grows to a
 -a. length of more than an
 inch.
 FIG. 65.-Cabbage looper: t, Larva; b, pupa;
 ,' adult. Natural size. (From U. S. Bur. The eggs, yellowish-
 of Ent.)
 green in color and about
 a fiftieth of an inch in diameter, are scattered over the surface
 of the leaves. The caterpillar requires about 3 weeks for
 growth and spends about 2 weeks in the pupa stage.
 The adult moth fig. 65, c) also looks much like those of
 cutworms, and, in the latitude of Gainesville, may be active all
 winter.
 THE CABBAGE PLUTELLA* (Plutella maculapennis).- The
 cabbage plutella (fig. 66, a), a much smaller caterpillar than
 the looper, is common on
 cabbages. It is less than
 a half-inch long and is
 much more hairy in ap-
 pearance than the loop- c
 er. When disturbed it
 drops quickly from the
 plant, spinning a silken d
 thread which it uses to
 remount when the dan- e
 ger is over. On the un- FIG. 66.-Cabbage plutella: a, Larva; d, e,
 pupa; f, moth: h, moth at rest. Two
der side of the leaf, it and one-half times natural size. (From
 U. S. Bur. of Ent.)
makes small round holes,
rarely extending thru. Like the looper, this caterpillar is active
 *For life history, see page 202.