Cauliflower ( Brassica oleracea ) , a cool - time of year , yearly vegetable , bears declamatory heads of comestible blanched flower parts . aboriginal to Western Europe , this plant thrive throughout most of the United States . Many gardeners considercauliflower oneof the most intriguing crops to grow in menage gardens . Not only are these plants very picky about their grow conditions , but they also pull several wormlike pests that enjoy feeding on the Brassica oleracea botrytis heads and foliation .
Cabbageworms
Step 1
The import cabbageworm ( Pieris rapae ) is one the most serious cuss to plague cauliflower industrial plant . Mature caterpillars reach about 1 inch long and have hazy green trunk with yellow to orange stripe down the back and sides . These plague are the larval form of cabbage butterflies , which fly around cauliflower plants during daylight hours . The butterfly also touch about an inch long and have bloodless wing with black spots . crabbed - stripy Pieris rapae ( Evergestis rimosalis ) larvae emerge gray , but develop a blue tint and black and yellow stripes as they mature . These plague prefer to feed on the young terminal buds and cauliflower heads . grownup moths have about 1 - column inch wingspans , and their yellow - brown to brownish annexe assume dark chocolate-brown zigzagged lines .
Loopers
Cabbage measuring worm ( Trichoplusia ni ) are wormlike Caterpillar that have pallid green trunk with flimsy clean lines black market along the sides . Mature caterpillar reach about 1 1/2 in in duration . Because these pests do n’t have legs on their midsections , they crawl along the foliage with a distinctive iteration movement , much like looper . The Nox - flying , adult moths have gray - brown wing with silvery markings and wingspans of about 1 1/2 inches .
Moth Caterpillars
Adult diamondback moths ( Plutella xylostella ) are slim , light brown pests that only wing at Nox . When they rest with their wings folded , you may see the diamond pattern that gave them their name . The diamondback moth caterpillars only touch about 1/3 column inch in length and have clean dark-green bodies tapered on each end . The untried larvae provender on folio , while mature cat feed on the flower heads .
Damage
accord to the University of Minnesota Extension , these wormlike pests all induce similar feeding price on cauliflower plants . Young larvae typically chew small fix in the undersides of leaves that do n’t go all the way through to the top airfoil , while the mature cat jaw large holes in the foliation . Imported cabbageworms and loot looper move their alimentation activity toward the center of plants as they senesce , often boring their way into the cauliflower question . fussy - striped cabbageworm interpenetrate the buds and flower heads with holes , which can cause deformed growth . Cauliflowers can commonly handle clean pest populations , but severe infestations can wipe out entire industrial plant .
Treatment
References
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