Holes in Cabbage Leaves: Which Caterpillar Is It?
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GardenSays
Best match: Imported cabbageworm. Manageable if you act.
- Best match
- Imported cabbageworm
- Severity
- Treatable
- Causes checked
- 3
Based on holes chewed in leaves on the lower leaves with moist soil, the closest match is imported cabbageworm. Confirm it against the actual plant: Velvety green caterpillar with faint yellow stripes down the back, up to 1 inch long — the most common cole-crop caterpillar.
- This is a symptom-pattern match from your written description, not a lab diagnosis. If the plant is collapsing over days (not weeks), treat it as the worst plausible cause until ruled out.
Do this this week
- 1.Confirm it first: Velvety green caterpillar with faint yellow stripes down the back, up to 1 inch long — the most common cole-crop caterpillar.
- 2.Handpick into soapy water, or cover plants with row cover (lightweight fabric) until harvest.
- 3.Collapsing fast (days, not weeks)? Photograph it and check with your county extension before treating
Calculated result · 2 verified sources · Checked 2026-07-17 · How we decide
Why
What to do: Handpick into soapy water, or cover plants with row cover (lightweight fabric) until harvest.
If that doesn't match what you see, work down the list: Cabbage looper (light green caterpillar up to 1.5 inches that arches its back into a distinctive 'looping' crawl.); Diamondback moth larvae (small, smooth caterpillars creating many small holes rather than a few large ones.).
- A symptom tree ranks causes by how well your conditions match each cause's known pattern — the distinguishing signs are how you confirm it on the actual plant, not a lab result.
- Most leaf problems trace to water, weather, or common leaf-spot fungi; true plant-killers are rarer but worth ruling out first.
When this doesn't apply
- If the plant is collapsing fast (days, not weeks), treat it as the most severe possibility on the list until proven otherwise.
- Multiple symptoms at once usually means the top cause here plus plain stress — fix watering first, then re-check.
How this was calculated
- 1. SymptomSource guidance
Cabbage: holes chewed in leaves — 3 known causes evaluated (extension-sourced)
- 2. Your conditionsCalculated result
Location on plant: lower; soil: moist. Causes whose known pattern matches these conditions rank higher — this narrows the list, it doesn't identify anything.
- 3. 1. Imported cabbagewormmatch score 3Calculated result
Distinguishing signs: Velvety green caterpillar with faint yellow stripes down the back, up to 1 inch long — the most common cole-crop caterpillar.
- 4. 2. Cabbage loopermatch score 2Calculated result
Distinguishing signs: Light green caterpillar up to 1.5 inches that arches its back into a distinctive 'looping' crawl.
- 5. 3. Diamondback moth larvaematch score 1Calculated result
Distinguishing signs: Small, smooth caterpillars creating many small holes rather than a few large ones.
Data sources
- University of Minnesota Extension — Caterpillars on cole crops — Imported cabbageworm: velvety green with faint yellow stripes, up to 1 inch, most common cole-crop caterpillar. Cabbage looper: light green, up to 1.5 inches, moves with a distinctive looping action. Diamondback moth: small, smooth caterpillars that create many small holes. Young caterpillars make small holes that don't break the upper leaf surface; larger caterpillars chew large ragged holes, leaving large veins intact. (checked 2026-07-17)
- University of Minnesota Extension — Black rot of Brassica crops — Black rot causes yellow, V-shaped/triangular lesions at the leaf margin and can rot cauliflower crowns; most damaging in broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and kale. Bacteria enter through leaf-margin pores (hydathodes) where morning dew collects, or through wounds. (checked 2026-07-17)
What changes this answer
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