Central Queensland University Access to Asian Vegetables October 1999, Issue No. It's time to watch out for caterpillars in Brassica vegetable crops.
Insects develop faster in warm weather than in cool weather.
Generations start to overlap during summer and DBM numbers can build up very rapidly. From late spring to late autumn it is important to check for presence of DBM in crops in southern Australia. Reliance on chemicals as a control measure has resulted in the development of resistance to many insecticides by populations of DBM throughout the world. Resistance to synthetic pyrethroid insecticides has been detected in populations of diamondback moth in all Australian states. Since 1993, Brassica growers in Victoria have had difficulty in controlling the caterpillars of diamondback moth and some have experienced insecticide control failures.