Pest on crop
Cabbage Looper on spinach
Trichoplusia ni
Pale green caterpillars that arch their backs (loop) when crawling. Defoliate brassicas and lettuce, contaminate harvested heads. Adults are mottled gray-brown moths.
- Pest
- Cabbage Looper
- Scientific name
- Trichoplusia ni
- Crop
- Spinach
- Total hosts
- 8
Cabbage Looper on spinach
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Signs on spinach
- ▸ Ragged irregular holes in leaves
- ▸ Looping motion when caterpillars crawl
- ▸ Frass deposits in lettuce or cabbage heads
- ▸ Pale green caterpillars with white side stripes
IPM controls
- ✓ Bt spray on small larvae (most effective when caterpillars are under 1/2 inch)
- ✓ Floating row cover during peak adult flight
- ✓ Pheromone traps for monitoring adult populations
- ✓ Hand-pick larger larvae
Other crops affected by cabbage looper
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