On 2013-07-27 21:11:42 +0100, Malcolm said:

In article , Sacha
writes
On 2013-07-26 15:53:48 +0100, Indigo said:

"David.WE.Roberts" wrote
I've sown some old greyhound cabbage seeds in trays to see if they
were still viable and have had a few germinate.
So I had perhaps 6-8 seedlings in two mushroom trays (the brown ones
you buy mushrooms in) out on a shelf down the garden, waiting to be
planted out.
Yesterday they were surrounded by a crowd of cabbage white
butterflies, and the tiny leaves were covered top and bottom with
little white posts which I assume are eggs.
[...]
I am seriously considering doing the same because nothing is worse
than putting in a load of work and a load of plants just to see them all eaten.
Oh dear. I know the feeling. My broccoli plants kept getting eaten into
green lace each year, despite the usual net, so this time I've made a
cage with brand new netting which is smaller gauge (5x7mm) and so far
they've not been able to shimmy their way through, despite trying hard.
I remembered to put cardboard collars to defeat cabbage root fly too,
which was another pest that attacked last year.
There does seem to be a sudden huge increase in white butterfly numbers
over the last few days. The garden's alive with them atm; they seem to
be partial to Scabious or Lavender flowers when they can't get
brassicas.

There are some butterflies around that might be mistaken for cabbage
whites, apparently. I've recently read that they've been seen in
considerable numbers.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/ear...7897/The-UKs-b
iggest-ever-survey-to-find-the-most-common-butterfly-in-British-gardens.
html

It doesn't matter if one is mistaken for the other. There are two
species of butterfly popularly known as "Cabbage Whites" - the Large
White and the Small White It is the latter that is featured in that
article. The main food plants of both species are members of the
Brassica family, e.g. cabbages, broccoli, etc., etc., and the
caterpillars of both are capable of doing significant damage both in
gardens and on farms.

Both are resident almost throughout Britain, except the far north, and
both populations can be joined, in some years, by vast numbers of
immigrants from the continent.

There is a third widespread species of white butterfly - the
Green-veined White - which, when it closes its wings, is striped
greeny-yellow on the undersides. They don't seem to attack garden
brassicas to any significant degree.

We've seen lots here and the only brassicas we grow at present are the
plants we have for sale. They're all looking quite well so I wonder
what the butterflies are using for food.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk