When do caterpillars finish?

[muddyfeet]

Even when caterpillars have gone there's pigeons to fend off!

[Kirk]

Never. The new South Wales mutant strain eat 380 days a year, have developed antifreeze in their blood so they can eat during winter and can see by IR in the dark to locate any brassica within 20 miles.

[PyreneesPlot]

When do caterpillars finish?


I think its when they've eaten every brassica in the UK

And then they come down here - year before last it was mid-Novemeber

Last year we had an early frost so no caterpillars. Or peppers, aubergines, tomatoes after mid October!

[veggiechicken]

Found these on one of the brassicas this morning - Large cabbage White I believe. They appeared to be dead but a poke with a gentle poke made a couple of them rear their heads up and wave then from side to side.
Can you see the tiny black caterpillars at the top of the photo. I assume they are also Cabbage Whites but I didn't expect to see so much variation in size
I've put them in a lidded container to see what happens next.
Two photos with and without flash;

[Pineberry]

I've put them in a lidded container to see what happens next.

What are you expecting to happen? You are not into getting a new pet or thinking of starting a caterpillar farm by any chance?

They sure will finish the remaining leaf and then will ask for more.

[veggiechicken]

No more pets - 3 dogs are enough
I expected these little catties to be chomping away like crazy, but they seem quite comatose. They're all lined up like cars in a car park not moving, unless touched. Do they eat when its dark and stay still in daylight? I'm realising how little I know about their lives

[mothhawk]

Yesterday I found a caterpillar of the small white inside the micromesh brassica cage hooked on the micromesh and obviously preparing to pupate, and on the outside, a pupa was already hanging, completely formed. (Gave it to the sparrows )

I've also had 2 or 3 large green caterpillars eating my parsnip leaves. Would that be the whites too?

[Snadger]

Brassica nets off........pigeons go " Cooh hey".....nets back on again!

[Potstubsdustbins]

I have been reading up on the little bu**ers recently. What I did find surprising is they leave the plant they have been feeding on and go 'crawl about' to find some sheltered to pupate.

I think yours maybe at that stage VC.

Potty

[veggiechicken]

They're not wandering far now Potty - though they have reduced their leaf to a skeleton. To think I thought they were dead this morning!!
I found more of the little darlings afterwards but just one big green caterpillar (Small Cabbage White?).
None of the brassicas are netted and they are all mixed up in their rows. Have been hoping to spot which is their preferred brassica and whether they like flat or crinkled leaves the most. Sorry to say, there doesn't seem to be any bias at all so far. Perhaps it will become clearer............or perhaps not!!

[alldigging]

Huge! on Twitpic

Found this monster by the house today.

[veggiechicken]

That's our old friend the Elephant Hawk Moth. Cute aren't they?

[alldigging]

That's our old friend the Elephant Hawk Moth. Cute aren't they?

Massive! Not seen one before!

[veggiechicken]

Wait 'til he extends his trunk

[kathyd]

I found dozens on my (netted) brassicas yesterday too. When I started pulling them off they seemed dozy like VC's, but they also seemed to be sticking to the plants - I think they're beginning to spin that white sticky stuff they wrap around themselves when turn into crysalises.

What I did find interesting was that there were loads on the nasturtians around the brassicas too. I'm thinking that next year I might plant my nasturtians close, rather than right underneath, the brassicas, to see if they'll tempt the butterflies away...