Plutella Xylostella

Plutella xylostella
common name: diamondback moth

scientific name: Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus) (Insecta:
Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)
Distribution - Description - Life Cycle - Host Plants - Damage Natural Enemies - Weather - Management - Host Plant
Resistance - Selected References
Distribution
The diamondback moth is probably of European origin but is
now found throughout the Americas and in Europe, Southeast
Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. It was first observed in
Source: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/leaf/diamondback_moth.htm
North America in 1854, in Illinois, but had spread to Florida

and the Rocky Mountains by 1883, and was reported from
British Columbia by 1905. In North America, diamondback
moth is now recorded everywhere that cabbage is grown.
However, it is highly dispersive, and is often found in areas
where it cannot successfully overwinter, including most of
Canada.
Description
Egg: Diamondback moth eggs are oval and flattened, and
measure 0.44 mm long and 0.26 mm wide. Eggs are yellow or
pale green in color, and are deposited singly or in small groups
of two to eight eggs in depressions on the surface of foliage, or
occasionally on other plant parts. Females may deposit 250 to
300 eggs but average total egg production is probably 150
eggs. Development time averages 5.6 days.
Larva: The diamondback moth has four instars. Average and
range of development time is about 4.5 (3-7), 4 (2-7), 4 (2-8),
and 5 (2-10) days, respectively. Throughout their development,
larvae remain quite small and active. If disturbed, they often
wriggle violently, move backward, and spin down from the plant
on a strand of silk. Overall length of each instar rarely exceeds
1.7, 3.5, 7.0, and 11.2 mm, respectively, for instars 1 through 4.
Mean head capsule widths for these instars are about 0.16,
0.25, 0.37, and 0.61 mm. The larval body form tapers at both
ends, and a pair of prolegs protrudes from the posterior end,
forming a distinctive "V". The larvae are colorless in the first
instar, but thereafter are green. The body bears relatively
few hairs, which are short in length, and most are marked by
the presence of small white patches. There are five pairs of
prolegs. Initially, the feeding habit of first instar larvae is leaf

mining, although they are so small that the mines are difficult
to notice. The larvae emerge from their mines at the conclusion
of the first instar, molt beneath the leaf, and thereafter feed
on the lower surface of the leaf. Their chewing results in
irregular patches of damage, and the upper leaf epidermis is
often left intact.
Figure 1. Larva of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella

(Linnaeus). Photograph by Lyle Buss, University of Florida.
Pupa: Pupation occurs in a loose silk cocoon, usually formed on
the lower or outer leaves. In cauliflower and broccoli, pupation
may occur in the florets. The yellowish pupa is 7 to 9 mm in
length. The duration of the cocoon averages about 8.5 days
(range five to 15 days).
Figure 2. Pupa of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus).

Photograph by Lyle Buss, University of Florida.
Adult: The adult is a small, slender, grayish-brown moth with
pronounced antennae. It is about 6 mm long, and marked with a
broad cream or light brown band along the back. The band is
sometimes constricted to form one or more light-colored
diamonds on the back, which is the basis for the common name
of this insect. When viewed from the side, the tips of the
wings can be seen to turn upward slightly. Adult males and
females live about 12 and 16 days, respectively, and females
deposit eggs for about 10 days. The moths are weak fliers,
usually flying within 2 m of the ground, and not flying long
distances. However, they are readily carried by the wind. The
adult is the overwintering stage in temperate areas, but moths
do not survive cold winters such as is found in most of Canada.
They routinely re-invade these areas each spring, evidently

aided by southerly winds.
Figure 3. Adult diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus).

Photograph by Lyle Buss, University of Florida.
Detailed biology of diamondback moth can be found in Marsh
(1917) and Harcourt (1955, 1957, 1963). A survey of the world
literature was published by Talekar et al. (1985).
Life Cycle
Total development time from the egg to pupal stage averages
25 to 30 days, depending on weather, with a range of about 17
to 51 days. The number of generations varies from four in cold
climates such as southern Canada to perhaps eight to 12 in the
south. Overwintering survival is positively correlated with the
abundance of snowfall in northern climates.
Host Plants
Diamondback moth attacks only plants in the family Cruciferae.
Virtually all cruciferous vegetable crops are eaten, including
broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, Chinese cabbage,
cauliflower, collard, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, radish, turnip, and
watercress. Not all are equally preferred, however, and collard
will usually be chosen by ovipositing moths relative to cabbage.
Several cruciferous weeds are important hosts, especially
early in the season before cultivated crops are available.
Damage
Plant damage is caused by larval feeding. Although the larvae
are very small, they can be quite numerous, resulting in
complete removal of foliar tissue except for the leaf veins.
This is particularly damaging to seedlings, and may disrupt
head formation in cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. The
presence of larvae in florets can result in complete rejection
of produce, even if the level of plant tissue removal is
insignificant.
Diamondback moth was long considered a relatively
insignificant pest. Its impact was overshadowed by such
serious defoliators as imported cabbageworm, Pieris rapae
(Linnaeus), and cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni (Hubner).
However, in the 1950s the general level of abundance began to
increase, and by the 1970s it became troublesome to crucifers
in some areas. Insecticide resistance was long suspected to be
a component of the problem. This was confirmed in the 1980s
as pyrethroid insecticides began to fail, and soon thereafter
virtually all insecticides were ineffective. Relaxation of
insecticide use, and particularly elimination of pyrethroid use,

can return diamondback moth to minor pest status by favoring
survival of parasitoids.
Natural Enemies
Large larvae, prepupae, and pupae are often killed by the
parasitoids Microplitis plutellae (Muesbeck) (Hymenoptera:
Braconidae), Diadegma insulare (Cresson) (Hymenoptera:
Ichneumonidae), and Diadromus subtilicornis (Gravenhorst)
(Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). All are specific on P.
xylostella. Nectar produced by wildflowers is important in
determining parasitism rates by D. insulare. Egg parasites are
unknown. Fungi, granulosis virus, and nuclear polyhedrosis virus
sometimes occur in high density diamondback moth larval
populations.
Weather
A large proportion of young larvae are often killed by rainfall.
However, the most important factor determining population
trends is thought to be adult mortality. Adult survival was
thought to be principally a function of weather, although this
hypothesis has not been examined rigorously.
Management
Sampling: Populations are usually monitored by making counts
of larvae, or by the level of damage. In Texas, average
population densities of up to 0.3 larvae per plant are
considered to be below the treatment level. In Florida and
Georgia, treatment is recommended only when damage equals
or exceeds one hole per plant. When growers monitor fields

and subscribe to these treatment thresholds rather than
trying to prevent any insects or damage from occurring in their
fields, considerably fewer insecticide applications are needed
to produce a satisfactory crop. A minimum plant sample size of
40 to 50 is recommended except for the egg stage, where 150
plants should be examined for accurate population estimates.
Pheromone traps can be used to monitor adult populations, and
may predict larval populations 11 to 21 days later. However,
because of variation among locations, each crop field requires
independent.
Insecticides: Protection of crucifer crops from damage often
requires application of insecticide to plant foliage, sometimes
as frequently as twice per week. However, resistance to
insecticides is widespread, and includes most classes of
insecticides including some Bacillus thuringiensis products.
Rotation of insecticide classes is recommended, and the use of
B. thuringiensis is considered especially important because it
favors survival of parasitoids. Even B. thuringiensis products
should be rotated, and current recommendations generally
suggest alternating the kurstaki and aizawa strains because
resistance to these microbial insecticides occurs in some
locations. Mixtures of chemical insecticides, or chemicals and
microbials, are often recommended for diamondback moth
control. This is due partly to the widespread occurrence of
resistance, but also because pest complexes often plague
crucifer crops, and the insects vary in susceptibility to
individual insecticides.
For specific insecticide recommendations see:
Florida Insect Management Guide for cole crops

Cultural practices: Rainfall has been identified as a major
mortality factor for young larvae, so it is not surprising that
crucifer crops with overhead sprinkle irrigation tend to have
fewer diamondback moth larvae than drip or furrow-irrigated
crops. Best results were obtained with daily evening
applications.
Crop diversity can influence abundance of diamondback moth.
Larvae generally are fewer in number, and more heavily
parasitized, when crucifer crops are interplanted with another
crop or when weeds are present. This does not necessarily lead
to reduction in damage, however. Surrounding cabbage crops
with two or more rows of more preferred hosts such as collard
and mustard can delay or prevent the dispersal of diamondback
moth into cabbage crops.
Crucifer transplants are often shipped long distances prior to
planting, and diamondback moth may be included with the
transplants. In the United States, many transplants are
produced in the southern states, and then moved north as
weather allows. Cryptic insects such as young diamondback
moth larvae are sometimes transported, and inoculated in this
manner. The transport of insecticide-resistant populations also
may occur. Every effort should be made to assure that
transplants are free of insects prior to planting.
Host Plant Resistance

Crucifer crops differ somewhat in their susceptibility to
attack by diamondback moth. Mustard, turnip, and kohlrabi are
among the more resistant crucifers, but resistance is not as
pronounced as it is for imported cabbageworm and cabbage

looper . Varieties also differ in susceptibility to damage by
diamondback moth, and a major component of this resistance is
the presence of leaf wax. Glossy varieties, lacking the normal
waxy bloom and therefore green rather than grayish green, are
somewhat resistant to larval. Larvae apparently spend more
time searching, and less time feeding, on glossy varieties.
Glossy varieties also tend to have fewer imported
cabbageworm larvae and cabbage aphids, but more cabbage
flea beetles.
Selected References
Capinera JL. 2001. Handbook of Vegetable Pests.

Academic Press, San Diego. 729 pp.
Cartwright B, Edelson JV, Chambers C. 1987. Composite
action thresholds for the control of lepidopterous pests
on fresh-market cabbage in the lower Rio Grande Valley
of Texas. Journal of Economic Entomology 80: 175-181.
Etebari K, Palfreyman RW, Schlipalius D, Nielsen LK,
Glatz RV, Asgari S. Deep sequencing-based
transcriptome analysis of Plutella xylostella larvae
parasitized by Diadegma semiclausum. BMC Genomics,
2011, 12: 446
Harcourt DG. 1955. Biology of the diamondback moth,
Plutella maculipennis (Curt.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), in
eastern Ontario. Rpt. Quebec Soc. Prot. Plants. 37:
155-160.
Harcourt DG. 1957. Biology of the diamondback moth,
Plutella maculipennis (Curt.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), in
Eastern Ontario. II. Life-history, behaviour, and host

relationships. Canadian Entomologist 89: 554-564.
Harcourt DG. 1963. Major mortality factors in the
population dynamics of the diamondback moth, Plutella
maculipennis (Curt.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae). Memoirs
of the Entomological Society of Canada 32: 55-66.
Marsh HO. 1917. Life history of Plutella maculipennis,
the diamond-back moth. Journal of Apicultural Research
10: 1-10.
McHugh Jr. JJ, Foster RE. 1995. Reduction of
diamondback moth (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) infestation
in head cabbage by overhead irrigation. Journal of
Economic Entomology 88: 162-168.
Stoner KA. 1990. Glossy leaf wax and plant resistance to
insects in Brassica oleracea under natural infestation.
Environmental Entomology 19: 730-739.
Talekar NS, Yang HC, Lee ST, Chen BS, Sun LY (eds.).
1985. Annotated Bibliography of Diamondback Moth.
Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center,
Taipei, Taiwan. 469 pp.
Wilkerson JL, Webb SE, Capinera JL. (2005). Vegetable
Pests III: Lepidoptera. UF/IFAS CD-ROM. SW 182.
Workman RB, Chalfant RB, Schuster DJ. 1980.
Management of the cabbage looper and diamondback
moth on cabbage by using two damage thresholds and
five insecticide treatments. Journal of Economic
Entomology 73: 757-758.

Plutella Xylostella

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Plutella xylostella

common name: diamondback moth

North America in 1854, in Illinois, but had spread to Florida

prolegs. Initially, the feeding habit of first instar larvae is leaf

Figure 1. Larva of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella

Figure 2. Pupa of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus).

They routinely re-invade these areas each spring, evidently

Figure 3. Adult diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus).

insecticide use, and particularly elimination of pyrethroid use,

or exceeds one hole per plant. When growers monitor fields

Florida Insect Management Guide for cole crops

Host Plant Resistance

pronounced as it is for imported cabbageworm and cabbage

Capinera JL. 2001. Handbook of Vegetable Pests.

Eastern Ontario. II. Life-history, behaviour, and host

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