were laid and migrate to. During the fourth instar, the larvae tend to burrow into the core of many fruits, vegetables, and plants rendering them unfit to sell commercially. Further, larvae leave waste excrements on the leaves of their chosen host plants which may devalue the plant even more by transmitting fungal and bacterial infection to the plant. Because of the irreparable damage to their host plants, these moths are treated largely as pests and species control practices are undertaken by those within the agricultural industry. While there are limited means of chemically controlling the species, one method of population reduction has been the use of wasp species that parasitize the eggs of the cabbage moth. Various wasp species are known to parasitize cabbage moths at different stages of its life cycle, from egg to pupa. Controlled introduction of wasp species to fields has been able to effectively increase the rate of parasitism from just 15% to 93%, significantly reducing the population of cabbage moths in the field. Food resources Here is a list of the known and recorded food plants for Mamestra brassicae: Allium – onion Aquilegia – columbine Beta – beet Brassica Bryonia – bryony Calendula – marigold Cannabis – marijuana Chrysanthemum Cucurbita Dianthus – carnation Helianthus – sunflower Hyoscyamus – henbane Hyssopus – hyssop Lactuca – lettuce Linum – flax Lychnis – Maltese cross Lycopersicon – tomato Malus – apple Nicotiana – tobacco Pisum – pea Plantago – plantain Raphanus – radish Rheum – rhubarb Rudbeckia Rumex Silene Solanum – potato Spinacia – spinach See Robinson, G. S. et al. References Citations Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991) Skinner, Bernard The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles 1984 External links Taxonomy Lepiforum e.V. De Vlinderstichting https://www.mothidentification.com/cabbage-moth.htm Mamestra Moths described in 1758 Agricultural pest insects Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of Japan Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus