BeneficialCabbage looper
Tachinid flies for cabbage looper
Tachinidae · wild parasitoid
Against cabbage looper
The tachinid Voria ruralis caused about 53% mortality of medium and large cabbage loopers in a North Carolina study on collards (Elsey & Rabb 1970, cited by UF/IFAS), and UC IPM lists it among the looper's natural enemies. It is wild and not sold. The study is old and from a field crop, so treat it as background help: skip broad-spectrum sprays and use Bt, which UC IPM and UF/IFAS say spares natural enemies.
RateWild — keep nectar plants near the crop, no broad-spectrum sprays
TimingSummer, while loopers are feeding; leave caterpillars carrying white eggs
macro · tachinid flies on cabbage looper
The pestCabbage looperTrichoplusia niRagged holes between leaf veins; frass in the headsFull pest profile →Before you act
Bristly, housefly-like flies whose larvae develop inside other insects. The small white eggs glued to a squash bug or caterpillar mean a tachinid has already found it. How to recognise it, what it is confused with and how to keep it around are on the full Tachinid flies profile.
Other controls for cabbage looper
- Bacillus thuringiensis kurstakiMicrobial insecticide · Label rate — Thuricide 2–4 tsp per gallon for cabbage looper
- Trichogramma spp.Egg parasitoid wasp · 25,000–100,000 /acre twice a week, light to heavy pressure (Rincon-Vitova, cole crops); 1–2 /ft² in gardens
- Paper waspsWild predator (stings) · Wild — tolerate nests away from doors and paths