Field Identification
A true noctuid looper that skeletonizes brassicas, lettuce, and tomatoes; like other loopers it has only two pairs of abdominal prolegs, so it arches when it crawls. Often arrives with transplants or migrates on weather fronts.
Smooth green caterpillar with narrow white stripes along the sides; adult is a mottled brown moth with a silvery figure on each forewing. Eggs are ridged and laid singly.
How to Deal With It
Organic Control Methods
Bt kurstaki or aizawai while larvae are under half-grown; spinosad as a follow-up—cover leaf axils and undersides.
Trichogramma spp. for eggs; parasitic flies and wasps on larvae—delay broad sprays to let them respond.
Interplant with non-host barriers; time brassica successions; remove crop trash that shelters pupae.
Floating row covers over seedlings; hand pick at night.
Light traps for adult monitoring; scout for window-pane feeding early.
Let Nature Handle It
Natural Enemies
- Trichogramma spp.
- Vespid wasps
- Tachinid flies
Threat Map