tiny green caterpillars feeding on basil leaves

[Anonymous]

tiny green caterpillars are feeding on basil leaves.
I don't want to use any chemical pesticides.

I plucked out all the leaves that were damaged and next morning I notice that more leaves have been eaten.
I checked under the leaves and wiped each leave with a tissue paper. This process did not help.
The same caterpillars are also eating away rose bush leaves as well.

Any advice on how to protect these plants?

[Anonymous]

These are cabbage white butterflies. Next year, sow double the quantity, so that there is enough for both you and the critters.

http://www.raisingbutterflies.org/cabbage-white/

[Anonymous]

The cabbage white is one of the few butterflies that actually continues to thrive in this area. The butterfly population is pretty much in the toilet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The cabbage white is one of the few butterflies that actually continues to thrive in this area. The butterfly population is pretty much in the toilet.

Agreed. The stinkbugs decimated most insect population and somehow I am no longer seeing the vast quantities of butterflies that would flock to my butterfly bush. I used to see a lot more swallowtails, monarchs, and common checkerspots in years past...all gone now.

Any recommendation for a good field guide for identifying moths, caterpillars and butterflies of this region.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:tiny green caterpillars are feeding on basil leaves.
I don't want to use any chemical pesticides.

I plucked out all the leaves that were damaged and next morning I notice that more leaves have been eaten.
I checked under the leaves and wiped each leave with a tissue paper. This process did not help.
The same caterpillars are also eating away rose bush leaves as well.

Any advice on how to protect these plants?

The basil must be tasty! Try to relocate the bugs and see if that helps. Otherwise try to salvage what you can.

[Anonymous]

Did anyone have thriving basil that grew so much that it kept flowering (and starting other plants nearby) and attracing bumblebees? I am overfloring with basil this year! I can't keep up with hacking away at the flowers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cabbage white is one of the few butterflies that actually continues to thrive in this area. The butterfly population is pretty much in the toilet.

Agreed. The stinkbugs decimated most insect population and somehow I am no longer seeing the vast quantities of butterflies that would flock to my butterfly bush. I used to see a lot more swallowtails, monarchs, and common checkerspots in years past...all gone now.

Any recommendation for a good field guide for identifying moths, caterpillars and butterflies of this region.

Nope, it wasn't the stinkbugs (although they're horrible and invasive). It's the over-use of pesticides and lack of habitat. Some butterflies nest in the ground, others need fields of flowers, e.g., monarch way stations on their migration.

For example, the Checkerspot is endangered, and the one place it can survive is an army base:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/wash-military-base-home-endangered-butterflies-article-1.1803189

Guides:
http://www.montgomeryparks.org/nature_centers/blackhill/documents/butterfly_list.pdf
http://www.marylandbutterflies.com

This thread is older but has some good resources:
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/296197.page