Pacific Pests, Pathogens & Weeds - Mini Fact Sheet Edition

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Cabbage centre grub (114)

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Photo 1. Damage to the centre of a cabbage caused by Hellula ?undalis in Samoa boring into the terminal shoot and killing it. The insert shows a mature caterpillar approximately 12 mm long.

Photo 2. The result of damage caused by the cabbage webworm, Hellula ?undalis, as shown in Photo 1. The terminal shoot has been destroyed and side shoots have developed producing many small clusters of leaves.

Summary

• Worldwide distribution. On members of the brassica family, i.e., cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage and radish, but also amaranth and eggplant. An important pest.
• Eggs pink, difficult to see, laid singly or in small groups; larvae with pink/brown stripes along sides.
• Young larvae mine leaves, older ones bore into stems and buds; plants die or have multiple heads as the central shoot is killed and side shoots develop.
• Cultural control: inspect nurseries and crops regularly; look for frass and silk; plant far from old plots; weed; use trap crops, e.g., mustards or Chinese cabbage (Bok Choy); destroy trap crop before eggs hatch.
• Chemical control: in household plots, PDPs to safeguard natural enemies (chillies, neem, derris, pyrethrum); in commercial plots, grow under nets; use Bt (Bacillus thurungiensis) sprays against caterpillars when young.

Common Name

 Cabbage centre grub, cabbage webworm

Scientific Name

Hellula undalis

This mini fact sheet is a part of the app Pacific Pests, Pathogens & Weeds

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