Do ladybugs eat cabbage moths?

0 votes
asked 4 days ago in Other-Home/Garden by ClintonXplorer (840 points)
Do ladybugs eat cabbage moths?

1 Answer

0 votes
answered 3 days ago by HolarofTexas (2,740 points)
Ladybugs also known as lady beetles do eat cabbage moths.

Ladybugs and lady beetles are beneficial predators which eat the larvae of the cabbage moths also known as the cabbage worms, which help to control them as garden pests e with other natural enemies like lacewing, wasps and hoverflies.

Attracting the ladybugs with flowering plants is also key to the ladybugs effectiveness at getting rid of cabbage moths.

Although ladybugs target the destructive cabbage moth larvae, and not the adult moths directly, but they reduce plant damage significantly by consuming the pests that feed on brassicas like broccoli and cabbage.

The predators of the cabbage moth are parasitic wasps, lacewings, lady beetles, spiders, birds and even small mammals such as shrews.

Other insects like hoverflies and damsel bugs target the larvae of the cabbage moth.

And even birds, yellow jackets and other predatory insects eat the cabbage moths and caterpillars and specialized parasitoid wasps lay eggs inside the caterpillars and ground beetles, which also consume the pupae, which help to control populations.

The adult cabbage moths are eaten by birds, bats and sometimes predatory insects like hornets.

Even spiders, frogs, toads, lizards, shrews and bats as well as songbirds, chickens and ducks as well as lady beetles, spiked shieldbugs eat the eggs and caterpillars of the cabbage moth.

Cabbage moths are most active at night, around dusk, as well as on cool and cloudy days, when the cabbage moths fly to find host plants and then lay their eggs, while also resting hidden  leaves during the day to avoid predators.

Dusk and night is the cabbage moths peak activity period for flying and mating and during cool and cloudy days, the cabbage moths activity may extend to these mess they prefer less sun.

And during the daytime, cabbage moths rest, often under the leaves of plants to stay safe.

Cabbage moths are primarily known for being pests that are responsible for causing severe crop damage on a wide variety of plant species.

The common name for cabbage moths, is cabbage moth, which is also a misnomer as the cabbage moth species feeds on many fruits as well as vegetables, and even crops in the genus Brassica.

The cabbage moth is an unassuming, small, white butterfly which is among the world's most invasive pets, which affect crops like broccoli, cabbage and kale and much more.

Adult butterflies and moths are generally benign and beneficial in a garden.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for their hungry youngsters.

If you value your brassicas, it pays to treat cabbage moth caterpillars with a firm hand and keep their numbers in check.

Plants that keep cabbage moths away include thyme, dill, oregano, lavender, onion, garlic, and marigolds which are said to deter cabbage whites and can be interplanted with the main crop.

Cabbage moths are most active at night and eggs are small, green and often laid on leaves.

The difference between cabbage moths and cabbage butterflies are the cabbage butterfly is white with black spots on the wings.

The cabbage butterfly is around 4cm across and has a Green-Blue caterpillar stage.

The Cabbage Moth is greyish and small (around 1cm across) and has a Green-Brown caterpillar stage.

115,939 questions

126,835 answers

1,381 comments

7,059,840 users

...