In addition, treatments made for other larvae generally keep these pests in check. The males have three light yellow diamond-shaped markings on their wings. The moths move rapidly when disturbed. They fly short distances from plant to plant during the daytime. The moths lay eggs singly or in groups of two or three on the leaves.
Eggs are small, nearly round and yellowish white.
The larvae are light green and pointed at each end. Their bodies are covered by tiny, erect black hairs. They wiggle rapidly when disturbed, often dropping from the plant and hanging by silk-like threads. The larvae feed on all parts of the plant but prefer places around the bud of a young plant, crevices between loose leaves of a firm head, and the undersides of wrapper leaves. Their feeding may disfigure the bud of a young plant so that the cabbage head will not develop properly.