Cabbage Looper

Trichoplusia ni

This light green 2” long caterpillar is the larvae of a medium sized gray moth. It gets its name because it only has "true" legs at the front and back and walks in a characteristic looping fashion. They can be found any time during the growing season and are best known for eating large holes in the leaves of Brassicas, though it will also eat the leaves of cucumber, potato, tomato and spinach.

The best way to control loopers is to hand pick, though they are often well camouflaged and hard to spot (the damaged leaves alert you to their presence, while fresh droppings give away their location). If there are too many to hand pick, you might want to try a spray of B.T. Many predators feed on loopers (birds, ground Beetles, spiders, small wasps and many more) and you should do your part to encourage them. If they are really bad you could use row covers to prevent the white moths laying eggs on them.

Images: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Slide Set, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Bugwood.org