Cabbage semilooper (Tircihoplusia ni, Noctuidae, Lepidoptera)

Damaging stage : larva

Damaging symptoms: caterpillars start scrapping and feeding on the leaves initially and later defoliate entire plant leaving midribs and main veins. More damage is evidenced in nurseries than in main field.

Identification

• Egg : greenish white, spherical, laid singly on ventral surface of
• Larva : three pairs of prolegs, and crawl by arching their back to form a loop and then projecting the front section of the body forward. The mature larva is predominantly green, but is usually marked with a distinct white stripe on each side.
• Pupa : white, thin, fragile cocoon in formed on the underside of foliage, in plant debris, or among clods of soil, initially green, but soon turns dark brown or black.
• Adult : forewings of the cabbage looper moth are mottled gray-brown in color; the hind wings are light brown at the base, with the distal portions dark brown. The forewing bears silvery white spots centrally: a U-shaped mark and a circle or dot that are often