Loopers
Loopers are green with several white stripes down their backs. They arch their backs as they
crawl, this looping movement giving them their name. The most common looper is the cabbage looper,
Trichoplusia ni.
Identification of species | Life
cycle
DamageLoopers eat irregular holes in leaves, most often older leaves. They may also bore holes in lettuce
and cabbage heads or damage fruit.
Solutions
Handpick. Apply Bacillus
thuringiensis or spinosad;
they are effective against loopers, especially
when caterpillars are small. Natural control
by viral
diseases, general
predators, and parasites
(Hyposoter, Copidosoma, Trichogramma) is
often effective. Floating
row covers can prevent
egg laying. |
Looper
caterpillar
Feeding
damage to cabbage
|
