Hello, from Steve Garten and welcome to my weird and wonderful world of moths.
I’m amateur Lepidopterist, I trap and record moth species on my six acre wildlife meadow at Tibenham Norfolk, UK.
The list of moths listed in this Macro-moths blog and the Micro Moths blog are the species I have recorded since 2015.
Cabbage Moth - Mamestra brassicae.
The moth is from the family of Noctuidae, subfamily Hadeninae.
This is a medium-sized macro moth, with a wingspan of 37 to 45 mm.
There can be considerable variation in the size of the adults.
The markings vary, and it can resemble several other species,
To confirm identification, look for the presence of a curved 'spur' on the tibia of the foreleg.
This moth has a rather complicated life cycle, with two or three overlapping generations, and moths on the wing from May through to September.
It feeds on cabbage and related crops and can be a notorious pest.
It overwinters mainly as a pupa,
In an underground cocoon,
Sometimes as a larva,
that's seen any time throughout the year.
The lava food plant is the brassicas family;
It is a pest to cultivators by burrowing into the heart of the crop.
The species as a wide range of habitats mainly in cultivated areas, and open woodland.
The moth is a resident common species throughout the UK.