Kitchen Garden Forum

Unbelievable! - opened up my astronomical observatory to give it an airing and saw a large white caterpillar crawling up the inside of the dome. Then another which had just started to pupate, then 3 more which already had.

Came back half hour later and found 3 more crawling round the base trying to find a way in, another pupa on the outside and 1 more which had also given up trying to get in and was in the process of pupating.

Bearing in mind that the observatory is on a concrete base and some way away from the Kale, which is there nearest hosts, it shows just how far they will travel over 'inhospitable' ground.

Colin, are your sure they were caterpillars of the large white? Many caterpillars, including moth caterpillars, look very similar, and they could certainly still be about. We often find pupae hanging from our outside window sills and every winter these are worked over by blue and great tits and we don't grow any brassicas in the garden (only on the allotment).

Hi Monika - oh yes, sure they were the large white. I have enough of them living off your Ragged Robin! Some of these are like skeletons. Shame - had originally covered them but the weather and other things... Still maybe they will 'recover'