Then, it’s ready to start the process itself. It takes less than 30 days for an egg to hatch, eat its way through a plant, and turn into a butterfly.

Then, the butterfly flew off, more than likely to lay more eggs elsewhere. At some point, a cabbage moth flew into your garden and laid a few eggs on the plants, primarily on the underside of the leaves. When you see a cabbage worm in your garden, you might wonder where do cabbage worms come from, and the answer is that cabbage worms came from a cabbage moth or butterfly. Now, we all have to worry about these insects. In the 1870s, these pests arrived in Massachusetts and quickly spread throughout the United States. Years ago, gardeners in the United States didn’t worry about cabbage worms they lived exclusively in Europe. Then, the process begins again as the adults lay eggs, creating more larvae. This lasts for several weeks until they’re old enough to form a chrysalis and transform into a white butterfly. These small caterpillars continue to eat and grow, satisfying their voracious appetites all day long. The larvae completely demolish entire leaves and plants as the population grows. If you find a cluster of oblong, yellow eggs, leave them in place those are ladybug eggs.Īs the larvae hatch from their eggs, they immediately begin to feed on the surrounding plant matter, creating tiny holes in the leaves. If you find these eggs, squish them immediately. Nearly all are attached to the underside of the leaves.Īll cabbage worm eggs are solo and sporadic. An average adult female cabbage moth lays around 200 eggs, and each egg only takes about seven days to hatch, depending on temperature.Ĭabbage butterfly eggs look like tiny, white, or yellow oblong dots. They landed on the leaves’ underside, laid an egg, and took off to find another place. These little white butterflies dance around the garden, laying eggs on their favorite plants. When we think of a cabbage worm’s life cycle, we start with an adult cabbage butterfly or moth. The moth or butterfly stage isn’t directly damaging to plants they leave the destructive job to the larvae or worms. In one season, several generations take place, so staying on top of the infestation is essential. That makes it easy to identify their sex.Ĭabbage white butterflies and cabbage worms appear in gardens starting in the early and lasting until late fall. Male cabbage whites have one round black spot on their wings, and females have two black dots. While cabbage white butterflies are pretty, they lay eggs on the undersides of the leaves. Chances are you’ve seen these white butterflies with a few black markings fluttering around your garden, but you had no idea that they were working against you. Cabbage loopers also don’t have any stripes on their bodies.Īs cabbage worms age, they become white cabbage butterflies. One of the main differences is that cabbage loopers raise and lower their bodies as they move because they lack middle legs cabbage worms have middle legs. It’s easy to confuse cabbage worms with cabbage loopers, which are yellow-green caterpillars. They have tiny legs across the underside of their bodies that allow them to move across leaves and plants with ease.

Use the methods listed below to get rid of cabbage worms.Ĭabbage worms look like small, velvety-green larvae with a few faint, yellow stripes running the length of their body. With that being said, keep in mind that a few cabbage worms won’t be the end of the world. These pests chew through entire leaves in a day or two. They camouflage against the leaves and stems, sneaking throughout your garden, causing severe destruction in a short period. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t infest other plants, including flowers.Ĭabbage worms are one of the most common garden pests nearly every gardener will struggle with them at some point. The name cabbage worms is a generic term given to several species of small, green caterpillars.Īll are attracted to the cabbage and mustard plant family, known as the brassica family. Some people refer to these pests as “imported cabbage worms,” and the adults are called cabbage whites or small whites.Īt one time, these pests were native to Europe and Asia, but they became common throughout the United States over time. Cabbage worms commonly attack cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and other vegetable plants in the cabbage family.

Black shade in poop and pin worms