The cruciferous mite(Plutella xylostella) is a small butterfly that is a pest of cruciferous vegetables such as head cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and kale. The caterpillars of the mallard moth are harmful, as they can gnawholes in the leaves of cruciferous vegetablesfrom June to September. Learn about the ways toecological fight against the crossworm mantisin the home garden and on the plot. We recommend the bestspraying for this cabbage pest
The cruciferous mantis - adult butterfly
Fig. Bj.schoenmakers, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
What does a cruciferous mantis look like?
The cruciferous mantis is a small butterflywith a gray-brown wingspan of 15-18 mm and a body about 8 mm long. The front pair of wings is light brown with a light line at the rear. The hind wings are gray and have a long ragged edge at the edge. Adult moths of the Mallard moth can be observed from May to September, and during the year in our climate, 3 to 4 generations of this pest can hatch.
Female diamondback moths layyellow, oval eggs up to 0.5 mm long on the lower part of the leaves of weeds and cruciferous vegetables . Typically, the eggs are grouped in an amount of about 200 along the leaf nerve.
The eggs hatchgreen caterpillars with a clearly darker headThe length of the caterpillar can reach 10-14 mm. Caterpillars of the cruciferous mantis appear in the period from June to September. When touched, these caterpillars become very mobile, bend into a horseshoe shape and fall to the ground.The caterpillars damage the crops of cruciferous vegetables such as head cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and kale.
Tantnia cruciferous - caterpillar
Fig. depositphotos.com
What damage does the cruciferous mantis cause?
The caterpillars of the cruciferous mantis feeding on the leaves of cruciferous vegetablesgnaw small holes in the form of windows. The characteristic windows are formed by the scraping of the leaf crumb by the caterpillars (only the lower leaf skin remains, and the leaf becomes slightly transparent at this point). As the leaves grow, the peel breaks andholes are formed in the leaf
Holes in cabbage leaves. Such damage is caused by cruciferous moths, but also cabbage moth and ground fleas. They are easy to confuse!
Fig. depositphotos.com
In a year there may be some loungingseveral generations of caterpillars of the crucian mantis We observe the first of them in June, the second in July, and the third in August or September. Caterpillars of the first generation cause the greatest damage to crops, as they feed on young plants, which begin to form heads (in cabbage) or roses (in cauliflower and broccoli). Thus, the caterpillars of the mallard moth disrupt the development of some of the edible cruciferous vegetables. That is why it is very important tofight against the mallard moth from the first, spring generation of this pest
Good to knowThe symptoms of cruciferous mite feeding may resemble damage caused by fleas or cabbage caterpillars. A mistake in identifying the perpetrator of damage on plants can make it difficult to control the pest. This mainly applies to fleas, which are fought using other methods than butterfly caterpillars.
Tantniś Krzyżowiaczek - ecological fight
In home gardens and allotments, we should use, first of all,natural and ecological methods of fighting the diamondback mothand biological spraying.
Remember that the observation for the presence of this pest should be carried out from May.If the butterflies of the Mallard mantis appear in May , it is a harbinger of the appearance of caterpillars in June.
Theecological methods of combating the cruciferous mantisinclude:
- Avoid cultivating different brassica plants next to each otherIn particular, do not plant vegetable patches in the immediate vicinity of rapeseed fields, which are the wintering site of the pest. In the spring, the first generation of cruciferous moths is grown from rape to cruciferous vegetables.
- Removal of plant residues after the end of cultivation , because they are the place where pests in the form of pupae winter. After removing the remnants from the beds, it is worth digging up the soil.
- Removal of weeds growing in and around the bedsas their flowers attract adult butterflies that eat nectar.
- As a trap plant, you can plant kalearound the cabbage beds, which is a delicacy for the caterpillars of the Mallard mantis. The pest will attack the kale first, and then it is enough to carry out the fighting sprays on the kale itself.
- It is recommendedto use covers made of nonwovens or nets , which create a mechanical barrier preventing pest access to plants.
- Scientific research has shown that there are fewer mantis caterpillars after heavy rainfall. Therefore, it can be beneficial tosprinkle the brassica while watering . However, it should be remembered that this increases the risk of fungal diseases.
- As a preventive measure and after the appearance of caterpillars of the diamondback moth, applyspraying with herbal and weed-based preparations , such as: infusion or decoction of yarrow, chamomile extract, tansy extract , a decoction of tomato leaves.
- Catching butterflies for pheromone traps.
- After noticing the first caterpillars of the cruciferous mantis, applyspraying with the biological preparation LEPINOX PLUSThis agent only destroys harmful caterpillars and is safe for beneficial insects. Vegetables sprayed with the preparation can be safely harvested the next day after spraying. Just wash them: -)
Tantniś cruciferous - spraying
In the first placeyou should use natural preparations based on herbs and weeds to spray the cruciferous moth . They are:
Yarrow decoction- 1 kg of fresh or 100 g of dried yarrow plants pour 10 liters of water and let stand for 24 hours, then cook for 30 minutes. Cooking allows you to keep the stock in closed jars for up to 3 months (you need to close the jars when the stock is hot).Spray the cruciferous plants without dilution as a preventive measure (especially if the cruciferous moth has occurred in previous years or we have observed the first flying butterflies) or after the appearance of the first caterpillars and pits on the leaves of cruciferous vegetables.
Common chamomile extract- Grind 300g of fresh herb or 100g of dried chamomile flowers and leaves and pour 1 liter of water at a temperature of about 70 ° C, then set aside for 12-24 hours. Against the cruciferous mite, spray cabbage preventively from spring after diluting the extract with water in a ratio of 1: 5. In the same way, we use chamomile against the caterpillars of cabbage moth.
Tansy extract- 300g of fresh tansy herb or 30g of dry, pour 10 liters of water and set aside for 24 hours. After the appearance of the first caterpillars of the Mallard moth on cruciferous vegetables, spray them after diluting the extract with water in a ratio of 1: 2. Tansy used in this way is also a remedy for cabbage and cream.
Cabbage damaged by caterpillars or white moth
Fig. depositphotos.com
Tomato leaf decoction- Boil 100g of fresh tomato leaves and stems in 1 liter of water for 30 minutes. Then set aside for 2 hours. Before spraying, dilute with water in a ratio of 1: 4. With this decoction we fight the caterpillars of the cruciferous mite, but also other cabbage pests - cabbage cabbage and fleas.
When these methods turn out to be ineffective, we have the above-mentioned biological preparation LEPINOX PLUS at our disposal. This preparation contains bacteria harmful to the caterpillars of the diamondback moth and causing their rapid death. Thanks to this,LEPINOX PLUS is very effective in combating caterpillars of harmful butterflies , while remaining safe for beneficial insects (selective agent).LEPINOX PLUS is used in the amount of 10g per 3-5 liters of water, which is enough to spray 100m² of surface.During the growing season, a maximum of 3 sprays can be applied at intervals of not less than 7 days. The preparation also fights caterpillars of cabbage cabbage caterpillars.
As a last resort, we can reach for chemical plant protection products, remembering, however, thatcaterpillars of the cruciferous moth are quite easily resistant to these agentsand you cannot perform more than 2 chemical sprayings in one growing season.
In amateur crops in home gardens and allotments, we can use basically only oneprotection agent for spraying cruciferous mothIt is Karate Zeon 050 CS. Spraying should be done as soon as the first caterpillars are observed on cruciferous vegetables. The preparation is used in the amount of 1.2 ml per 5-6 l of water, which is enough to spray the surface of up to 100 m2 of beds. The withdrawal period (the number of days from the last application of the product to the day of harvesting the crop) is 7 days.
