Pieris brassicae CATERPILLARS
These are now supplied as caterpillars, rather than eggs, as some customers had difficulty with the size of eggs.
Large Whites (Pieris brassicae) are recognised by most as ‘Cabbage White’ butterflies and often written-off as boring or simple. In contrast, this is one of my favourite native butterflies because of its colourful caterpillars and elegant adults - often seen floating through gardens in the countryside and city alike! Famed for its voraciously hungry caterpillars that demolish cabbages, they can also be reared on related plants like ornamental cabbage, broccoli, or Nasturtium (which they love in my garden). Mature caterpillars will wander off to find pupation sites - as a child, at the end of the summer holidays I would find many of these on flat surfaces like sheds, outside walls, windows etc. as the caterpillars wandered off the fields behind my grandparents’ house. There they would pupate and spend the winter, emerging in late spring the following year!
Food plants - Cabbage & other Brassicas; Nasturtium
Difficulty - very easy (1/10)
Temperature - standard room temperature or outdoors
Lifecycle - Two or three broods in spring and summer with pupae overwintering
These are now supplied as caterpillars, rather than eggs, as some customers had difficulty with the size of eggs.
Large Whites (Pieris brassicae) are recognised by most as ‘Cabbage White’ butterflies and often written-off as boring or simple. In contrast, this is one of my favourite native butterflies because of its colourful caterpillars and elegant adults - often seen floating through gardens in the countryside and city alike! Famed for its voraciously hungry caterpillars that demolish cabbages, they can also be reared on related plants like ornamental cabbage, broccoli, or Nasturtium (which they love in my garden). Mature caterpillars will wander off to find pupation sites - as a child, at the end of the summer holidays I would find many of these on flat surfaces like sheds, outside walls, windows etc. as the caterpillars wandered off the fields behind my grandparents’ house. There they would pupate and spend the winter, emerging in late spring the following year!
Food plants - Cabbage & other Brassicas; Nasturtium
Difficulty - very easy (1/10)
Temperature - standard room temperature or outdoors
Lifecycle - Two or three broods in spring and summer with pupae overwintering
These are now supplied as caterpillars, rather than eggs, as some customers had difficulty with the size of eggs.
Large Whites (Pieris brassicae) are recognised by most as ‘Cabbage White’ butterflies and often written-off as boring or simple. In contrast, this is one of my favourite native butterflies because of its colourful caterpillars and elegant adults - often seen floating through gardens in the countryside and city alike! Famed for its voraciously hungry caterpillars that demolish cabbages, they can also be reared on related plants like ornamental cabbage, broccoli, or Nasturtium (which they love in my garden). Mature caterpillars will wander off to find pupation sites - as a child, at the end of the summer holidays I would find many of these on flat surfaces like sheds, outside walls, windows etc. as the caterpillars wandered off the fields behind my grandparents’ house. There they would pupate and spend the winter, emerging in late spring the following year!
Food plants - Cabbage & other Brassicas; Nasturtium
Difficulty - very easy (1/10)
Temperature - standard room temperature or outdoors
Lifecycle - Two or three broods in spring and summer with pupae overwintering