Our friend, the Cabbage White!

[tim]

Since I had only seen 3 this year I thought that, by some miracle, they had left our shores.

I always leave a row or 2 uncovered to tempt the little dears away from the important stuff. Yesterday, I did the usual check, & found one intruder.

On what?

No - UNDER the netting? ? ? ? ?

[tim]

[delboy]

Opened up the netting over my winningstadt and ormskirk savoys to weed the patch and 30 of the little blighters came in like a squadron of fokkers...

[Duke Ellington]

Loads of cabbage whites here in Hampshire  >:(

Duke

[davyw1]

I don,t use any netting cos i have none Ha but i do spray with a watered sallution of Lemon Zest washing up liquid and it seems to do the trick........well so far its done the trick. now along comes Murphey

[Flighty]

Well it is Save Our Butterflies Week!
http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/text/1996/save_our_butterflies_week.html

[valmarg]

Haven't seen many round here yet, but then we haven't planted out the Purple Sprouting.  Once we do they seem to home in.

valmarg

[Fork]

Ive got barrier fencing(the type you see on building sites) and netting over my savoys......and I stood and watched a cabbage white "flutter" through the fencing!......it didnt live very long!

[tim]

davy - I feel that you may have been lucky?

I do not see detergent as a useful killer of eggs or caterpillars. Especially when they are always on the uderside of leaves.

Just as quick with finger & thumb?

[davyw1]

davy - I feel that you may have been lucky?

I do not see detergent as a useful killer of eggs or caterpillars. Especially when they are always on the uderside of leaves.

Just as quick with finger & thumb?

Tim i don,t do it to kill anything its there as a deterant they don't like the smell of the lemon

[tim]

Live & learn!!

[davetedd]

I too have watched cabbage whites fly through the 3/4 inch mesh which is sold as protection against butterflies and in future will use a 1/4 inch pond mesh for this job. We have hundreds flying round our lottie on the Sussex coast at the moment. :o

[Suzanne]

Dilemma now and hope you can help. I have been busy squidging the clusters of eggs that I think the large cabbage whites leave and also the single eggs that the small variety of cabbage white leave. I have just read that ladybrds also leave clusters of 40 yellow elongated eggs and we do have a cabbage aphid problem on the PSB. My dilemma - would ladybirds lay eggs on brassica's close to a food source and if they do how on earth do I tell them apart from cabbage whites eggs?
:-\

I hate to think that my vigilence may result in friendly fire incidents on an ally!  :'(

[Baccy Man]

My dilemma - would ladybirds lay eggs on brassica's close to a food source and if they do how on earth do I tell them apart from cabbage whites eggs?

Yes they would & read this thread.
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,44148.0.html

[tim]

I truly believe that, however much one loves Ladybirds & what they achieve, it is false thinking to wait for them to do it!

And recognition?  Unmistakable?

[Baccy Man]

I find ladybirds dissipate very quickly once hatched the hoverflies & lacewings do a better job of clearing my aphids.

Tim your picture is of cabbage white eggs.

[Suzanne]

Thanks both - looks like i have been squishing the right eggs  ;D

[tim]

Indeed, Baccy Man - lest anyone should be in doubt.

[jonny211]

I too have watched cabbage whites fly through the 3/4 inch mesh which is sold as protection against butterflies and in future will use a 1/4 inch pond mesh for this job. We have hundreds flying round our lottie on the Sussex coast at the moment. :o

Yep, I'll also confirm that they can get through mesh and have defeated the purpose of the £6 a roll netting I bought to stop them.

Saw one the the other day underneath the mesh dancing with one above the mesh... very pretty. Then I squashed them both  ;)

Cheers.

Jon

[oakmore2]

Glad it's not just me then. Being a complete novice, when I found two flutering around under my net all I could think was that I hadn't applied it properly. Close examination demonstrated that the netting was indeed tied down as it should be. Looks as though my net was too big (it was sold as 'protective against butterflies') and the little blighters must have gone through it.

I'm resorting to regular checks and the finger/thumb approach to removal.

Little blighters...

[manicscousers]

I'm thinking about one of those tennis bat-style thingies that zaps them  ;D