Turnips - loads of small beige flying things...any ideas?

[ancellsfarmer]

Further to my post  earlier, visited the plot tonight and appear to have spoken too soon. They were not there on Sunday.
Clouds of them, on everything, but mainly swedes/turnips/kohlrabi. Knocked down with the hose but no doubt recovering.
Note the comments regarding caterpillar stages on the Wikipedia link above. Will be trying a salt solution with soapy water and bicarb of soda, which worked on cabbage white caterpillars in previous years. Fortunately brassicaes are salt resistant in moderation. Update in due course.

Update: 17/06
Visited last evening  and found just 1 small green caterpillar on a swede. Attempted to escape by flinging itself into a back flip, but it just wasn't quick enough! I think a more thorough search is due this weekend, we are about inline with the estimated incubation period if eggs were laid when this cloud was first seen. Only a few adults seen on crops, potatoes mainly, possibly using the larger leaves for shelter from showers. Apparently they do not like it wet... Has anybody else got caterpillars from this visitor yet?

[ancellsfarmer]

[Crystalmoon]

Hi everyone, after a weeks holiday I thought I would be returning to a turnip bed completely destroyed by caterpillars from the cloud of Diamond Back Moths I've had on my plot (I am now sure this is what they are)....but to my surprise the Turnips look healthy if a bit messy on the leaves. The new bed I sowed doesn't have any sign of the moths. Kent has been extremely wet with torrential rainfall so perhaps this has helped the situation. I will be checking carefully under the leaves to see if I can find the caterpillars each time I visit my plot...I did have a good look yesterday but couldn't see eggs or caterpillars....I am really surprised by this as the turnip bed really was infested with the moths.   

[ancellsfarmer]

We now have 3 threads current on the diamond back moth.You may all be interested in this:
http://www.cabi.org/projects/project/46497