Lavender/Cabbage White Butterflies
In my front garden, there's a lavender bush which is very popular with
white butterflies. In the back garden, I have a few brassicas that are similarly popular with white butterflies. They even lay eggs. Are these the all the same butterflies? I was planning a lavender hedge quite close to the vegetable patch for next year, is this wise? Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com |
Lavender/Cabbage White Butterflies
Hello.
The white butterflies are using your lavender to feed from (the nectar) and are using your brassicas to lay their eggs. Do go ahead with your lavender hedge because I think you will find that a great number of different butterflies and other insects will feed from it. My lavenders are currently being used by several varieties of butterfly to feed from including blues. All types of bees love it too. Hope this is of some help, Helen. |
Lavender/Cabbage White Butterflies
(Steve Harris) wrote in message ...
In article , (Neil Jones) wrote: In fact I can think of reasons why there might be less damage to the cabbages if more eggs were laid. Do go on! :-) Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com Oh boy, this is complicated larger populations may( I stress may) attract more predators. For example cabbage whites are attacked by a parasite called Cotesia glomerata (formerly Apanteles glomeratus) this is a tiny tiny wasp whose larvae eat the caterpillars alive. There are other wasps too and they can emerge from early stages of the caterpillar killing them while quite small. Without digging into journals I don't know what is known about the interactions here and what "density dependent" (to use jargon) effects have been observed. I do know that in two other butterflies The Marsh Fritillary which has a specific parasite called Cotesia Bignelii and the Holly Blue which has a parasite called Listrodomus nyctherimus the populations have been observed to be markedly affected by parasite density. Only the Holly Blue would be really expected in a garden. The Marsh Fritillary is a listed protected species not usually found in gardens. (Having said that it used to come into my old garden 20 years ago but that is like getting a peregrine falcon on your bird table!) -- Neil Jones- http://www.butterflyguy.com/ "At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn Bog National Nature Reserve |
Lavender/Cabbage White Butterflies
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