...loves plants of the cabbage family (Brassicaceae). This family includes oilseed crops like canola and mustard, cole crops like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower and root crops like turnip and radish. It was the first crop insect reported to be resistant to DDT and now, in many Brassica producing regions, it has shown significant resistance to almost every synthetic insecticide applied in the field. It's scientific name is (
Plutella xylostella) and it is a night flying moth that lays eggs from which hatch larvae that eat away at the underside of leaves.
If you see these translucent windows in your broccoli leaves you know she's paid you a visit.
View from the underside.
The larva goes through 4 instars (where it sheds skin and gets bigger) and this is one of the smallest.
Here's a larger one.
And here is a pupa.
I don't plan to spray, and our crop is very small so I've just been checking the leaves daily and squishing the little guys. We'll see how it goes.
