What is dangerous cabbage scoop: a description of the insect and how to deal with it

An unremarkable butterfly - the cabbage scoop - has long chosen human fields and vegetable gardens as a territory for reproduction, and crops as a food source for gluttonous caterpillars. This pest is common throughout the European continent and is well known to people. Therefore, today there are effective ways to deal with it.

Insect description

Cabbage scoop (Latin name - Mamestra brassicae) is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of 5 cm. It belongs to the large family of scoops (Latin Noctuidae), or “nocturnae”, which includes almost 1890 genera.

The wings have a slightly serrated edging. The pigment on their surface is unevenly distributed: the closer to the edges, the more dark tones in the color. At the same time, there is no single standard of appearance for individuals of the cabbage scoop: it can be variable not only in color, but also in size and shape of the butterfly body

In the middle lane, the cabbage scoop appears in the first ten days of June. In the southern regions it can be seen already in May days.

The larvae of the cabbage scoop develop to a pupa state for 50 days. Their color may be different: there are bright green, gray, brown, almost black specimens. The youngest caterpillar is always colored green. In adults, there is a frightening black pattern of stripes on the back, designed to scare away potential enemies. Usually, a caterpillar, approaching the end of its development in this phase, reaches a length of 5 cm. It has 16 legs that help it move through plants.

Cabbage scoop life

In one year, 2 or generations of cabbage scoops may appear: it depends on the weather and climatic conditions of the region. Therefore, almost from May to October you can see butterflies fluttering around the flowers and the site. Since the middle name of the “Overnight” family, it is easy to guess that scoops prefer a nocturnal lifestyle. In the dark, they are attracted by light, sugar and flower nectar.

The female makes masonry on the underside of the leaves of a favorite plant. The eggs are spherical in shape. Each such "batch" contains approximately 8-200 pieces. In total, in her life the female is able to reproduce up to 2500 eggs.

Cabbage scoop waits for the winter in the form of larvae or pupae. To escape from the cold, they hide in the ground to a depth of 25 cm, less often in the bark of trees, crevices of human buildings, fallen leaves, etc. A butterfly will fly out when, with the onset of heat, the air temperature becomes at least 16 ° C.

Harm

Cabbage scoop as a pest is dangerous only in the form of a caterpillar, because its adults feed exclusively on floral nectar. Larvae, which require a lot of nutrition for growth and development, prefer juicy cruciferous plants, mainly cabbage. They are not averse to feasting on legumes and sugar beets.

Scientists estimate that about 70 species from 22 plant families are suitable for feeding cabbage scoop larvae.

Starting from the 3rd age, the caterpillars feed on the flesh of cabbage leaves: first, the upper plates of the head are gnawed, which leads to the formation of asymmetric holes. Larvae of the 4th and 5th instars penetrate deeper into the cabbage. To do this, they form branched passages in the head. Since the larvae leave their excrement inside the plant, it soon rots. As a result, cabbage grows outwardly unsightly, rotten and gnawed inside.

Ways to fight

The struggle with the cabbage scoop should be conducted throughout the season, which will require attention, time and labor from the grower. The easiest way is the mechanical destruction of the tracks by collecting them from cabbage. It is recommended to do this after sunset, when the larvae leave their shelters. But this option has one important drawback: it is impossible to find pests hidden in the depths of the head of the cabbage, and they will continue to spoil the cabbage.

Chemicals

It is much more effective to deal with cabbage scoop with chemicals. For example:

1. "Sherpa": only 1.5 ml of the insecticide is diluted in 10 liters of water and the cabbage plantings are sprayed.
2. Inta-Vir: first, one tablet is dissolved in a small amount of water, and then stirred in 10 liters.
3. Iskra-M: also for 10 l, you will need only one tablet.
4. Dust (5%);
5. Pyrethrum, available in powder form.

You can also use Decis, Zeta, Kinmix, Fas. They are recommended for use on early cabbage.
Pest death occurs immediately after exposure to an insecticide. First, there is instant paralysis of all the nerves in their body, and then death immediately.

During the summer, cabbage can be treated with organophosphorus agents: Danadim-Expert, Dursban, Zolon.

When processing cabbage, the prescribed dosage and consumption rate should be strictly adhered to. Otherwise, the procedure will damage the leaves and the head itself. The best weather conditions are calm. Spraying is usually done in the early morning, or — better — after sunset. You can use chemicals no more than 2 times per season, and pick up the time of the last treatment so that at least 30 days remain before harvesting. Otherwise, heads of cabbage may contain toxic substances that cause poisoning.

5 folk remedies

Some gardeners prefer to use folk remedies to drive pests from their site. There are special recipes for dealing with cabbage scoop. Their mechanism of action is based on the fact that the larvae do not like pungent and pungent odors, so they will prefer to retire from treated heads of cabbage.

1. Decoction of red pepper. You will need 100 g of fresh hot pepper or 20 g of dry per 1 liter of water. They are boiled for 1 hour, after which the resulting liquid is filtered through a fine sieve and allowed to stand for 2 days. It remains to add a burning broth in 10 liters of water, mix thoroughly and use to spray cabbage.
2. Wormwood. 350 g of plant material are thrown into a bucket of boiling water, just taken from the fire. Insist for 6 hours.
3. Boil 1 kg of wormwood in 3 liters of water for 15 minutes and strain. Insist bird water in advance of 100 g in 3 liters in advance for 2 days. Then combine both compounds, add 10 l of water, spray cabbage 2 times with an interval of 7 days.
4. The leaves of a simple burdock are rammed in a bucket so that they occupy half its volume. Water is poured into the remaining space and left to infuse for 3 days.
5. Infusions of milkweed, dope, tobacco, and tomato tops will also be effective.

To keep the composition longer on cabbage leaves, you can add liquid soap or laundry soap (40 g) to it.

The main advantages of folk remedies are their safety and accessibility. But all of them are much less effective than chemical or biological agents.

Biological methods

The most popular among biological agents that remove cabbage scoops are:

• "Bitoxibacillin";
• "Lepidocide";
• Fitoverm.

All biological preparations are similar to each other in terms of application, but reading the instructions will still not be superfluous. First, the product is diluted in water, and then applied to plants.

Small insects: trichograms will help to cope with the intrusive cabbage scoop and its ubiquitous caterpillars. They are released on the site 2 times per season. These creatures are parasites that lay eggs in the eggs of harmful butterflies.

The use of biological preparations has a definite plus: they do not harm either cabbage or other plantings. But, unfortunately, it is not always possible to predict whether it will be possible to completely destroy the cabbage scoop.

Trap

Tricky traps help to catch only adults. But, the fewer adults, the less eggs laid and, consequently, caterpillars. Therefore, this method also has a place to be.

To create the bait, you will need plastic cups or parts of cut bottles. They pour molasses or jam into them, and hang them on tree branches near a bed of cabbage at a height of about 1 m. You can also use mash with brewer's yeast or fermented compote. Scoops-sweet tooth necessarily "come to the feast", after which they will firmly stick in a trap. It is sufficient to periodically change them as the catch accumulates.

Agricultural technology

Simple agrotechnical rules will help reduce the risk of infection with a cabbage scoop and detect the enemy in time:

• inspect cabbage every week, starting from the moment the seedlings are planted in the ground;
• destroy found caterpillars and found egg clutches;
• keep the beds clean, weeding weeds in time and removing plant debris;
• regularly loosen the earth;
• make spring and autumn digging;
• feed plants with potassium chloride and superphosphate.

Using this information, the vegetable grower can save the cabbage crop from the caterpillars of the butterfly-cabbage scoop. This is a common pest, so you should always be alert. If using one method of fighting was not enough, it is better to supplement it with others.