Note: the Small WhiteThe Small White is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the Yellows-and-Whites family Pieridae. It is also commonly known as the Small Cabbage White...
species of butterfly is commonly called a "cabbage moth" in North America.
The
Cabbage Moth (
Mamestra brassicae) is a common
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an
mothA moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. The differences between butterflies and moths are more than just taxonomy. Sometimes the names "Rhopalocera" and "Heterocera" are used to formalize the popular distinction...
of the family
NoctuidaeThe Noctuidae or Owlet moths are a family of robustly-built moths that includes more than 35,000 known species out of possibly 100,000 total, in more than 4,200 genera. They constitute the largest family in the Lepidoptera....
.
This species varies considerably in size, with a
wingspanThe wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from the left wingtip to the right wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent,...
of 34-50 mm. The forewings are brown and mottled with a prominent white-edged
stigmaThis glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of lepidopteran species.Like all insects, adult butterflies have three distinctive segments to their bodies, the head, thorax and abdomen. The head has the eyes, the mouth parts and antennae. The mouth parts have a proboscis formed...
and a broken white subterminal line. The hindwings are grey, darker towards the
termenThis glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of lepidopteran species.Like all insects, adult butterflies have three distinctive segments to their bodies, the head, thorax and abdomen. The head has the eyes, the mouth parts and antennae. The mouth parts have a proboscis formed...
. The prominent spur on the
tibiaThe tibia, shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates and connects the knee with the ankle bones.The tibia is named for the greek aulos flute, also known as a tibia.-In humans:...
of the foreleg is a diagnostic feature, though is best viewed with a magnifying lens. This moth has a rather complex life history: two or three broods are produced each year and adults can be seen at any time from May to October, occasionally at other times . It flies at night and is attracted to light, sugar and nectar-rich
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
s.
The larva is green or brown with dark spots. As the common and scientific names suggest, it can be a pest of cultivated
brassicaBrassica is a genus of plants in the mustard family . The members of the genus may be collectively known either as cabbages, or as mustards...
s but it feeds on a wide range of other plants (see list below). Due to its complex life history, this species overwinters either as a larva or a
pupaA pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...
.
- The flight season refers to the British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include Great Britain, Ireland and numerous smaller islands. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Ireland...
. This may vary in other parts of the range.
Recorded food plants
- Allium - Onion
Onion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium. They are known by the common name "onion" but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa. Allium cepa is also known as the "garden onion" or "bulb" onion...
- Aquilegia - Columbine
Aquilegia is a genus of about 60-70 species of columbines, herbaceous perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere. They are known for their distinctive flowers, generally bell-shaped, with each petal modified into an elongated...
- Beta - Beet
The beet is a plant in the amaranth family. It is best known in its numerous cultivated varieties, the most well known of which is probably the red root vegetable known as the beetroot or garden beet...
- Brassica
Brassica is a genus of plants in the mustard family . The members of the genus may be collectively known either as cabbages, or as mustards...
- Bryonia - Bryony
Bryony is the common name for any of twelve species in the genus Bryonia. These are perennial, tendril-climbing, dioecious herbs with palmately lobed leaves and flowers in axillary clusters. The fruit is a smooth, globular berry....
- Calendula - Marigold
Marigold may refer to:Plants:* Marigold , Tagetes* Pot marigold, Calendula* Mexican marigold, Tagetes erecta* Tree marigold, Tithonia diversifolia* Desert marigold, Baileya multiradiata...
- Cannabis - Marijuana
- Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums, often called mums, are a genus of about 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Taxonomy:...
- Cucurbita
Cucurbita is a genus in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae first cultivated in the Americas and now used in many parts of the world. It includes species grown for their fruit and edible seeds , as well as some species grown only as gourds. They have bicollateral vascular bundles...
- Dianthus - Carnation
Dianthus caryophyllus is a species of Dianthus. It is probably native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years. It is the wild ancestor of the garden Carnation.It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall...
- Helianthus - Sunflower
Sunflowers are annual plants native to the Americas, that possess a large inflorescence .-Description :...
- Hyoscyamus - Henbane
Henbane , also known as stinking nightshade, is a plant of the family Solanaceae that originated in Eurasia, though it is now globally distributed.-Toxicity and historical usage:...
- Hyssopus - Hyssop
Hyssop is a genus of about 10-12 species of herbaceous or semi-woody plants in the family Lamiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to central Asia. They are aromatic, with erect branched stems up to 60 cm long covered with fine hairs at the tips. The leaves are narrow oblong, 2-5 cm long. The...
- Lactuca - Lettuce
Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. In many countries, it is typically eaten cold, raw, in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and in many other dishes...
- Linum - Flax
Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent. This is called as Agasi/Akshi in Kannada, Jawas/Javas or Alashi in Marathi...
- Lychnis - Maltese Cross
- Lycopersicon - Tomato
The tomato is a herbaceous, usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family that is typically cultivated for the purpose of harvesting its fruit for human consumption...
- Malus
Malus , the apples, is a genus of about 30–35 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae. Other studies go as far as 55 species including the domesticated Orchard Apple, or Table apple as it was formerly called...
- Apple
- Nicotiana - Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide, and in the form of nicotine tartrate it is used in some medicines. In consumption it most commonly appears in the forms of smoking, chewing, snuffing, or...
- Pisum
Pisum is a genus of the family Fabaceae, native to southwest Asia and northeast Africa. It contains one to five species, depending on taxonomic interpretation; the International Legume Database accepts three species, one with two subspecies :...
- Plantago
Plantago is a genus of about 200 species of small, inconspicuous plants commonly called plantains. They share this name with the very dissimilar plantain, a kind of banana. Most are herbaceous plants, though a few are subshrubs growing to 60 cm tall. The leaves are sessile, but have a narrow...
- Plantain
- Raphanus - Radish
The radish is an edible root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family that was domesticated in Europe in pre-Roman times. They are grown and consumed throughout the world. Radishes have numerous varieties, varying in size, color and duration of required cultivation time...
- Rheum - Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a group of plants that belong to the genus Rheum in the family Polygonaceae. They are herbaceous perennial plants growing from short, thick rhizomes. They have large leaves that are somewhat triangular shaped with long fleshy petioles. They have small flowers grouped in large compound...
- Rudbeckia
Rudbeckia is one of at least four genera within the flowering plant family Asteraceae whose members are commonly known as coneflowers; the others are Echinacea, Dracopis and Ratibida....
- Rumex
The docks and sorrels, genus Rumex L., are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae....
- Silene
Silene is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. Common names include campion and catchfly....
- Solanum - Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes are the world's fourth largest food...
- Spinacia - Spinach
Spinach is an edible flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. It is an annual plant , which grows to a height of up to 30 cm. Spinach may survive over winter in temperate regions...