Large White Butterfly eggs and caterpillars

My vegetable patch brings new joy each year. This year Large White Butterflies have decided that my cauliflower are exactly right food plant for them to lay their eggs and provide a safe feeding area for the growing caterpillars.

Out watering one morning in July, I spotted a clutch of eggs on the underside of a leaf and the next day they had all hatched, see second image. They hatch after about ten days and it had not occurred to me to look before then. The large green caterpillar is a Small White.

After that I turned over more leaves and saw several more broods as well as a newly laid clutch of eggs (cover image). These caterpillars will entertain me for a whole month feeding up on my cauliflower before heading off into nooks and crannies, under windows, in sheds, on walls, etc., where they attach themselves by a silken pad and girdle to hibernate until next spring.

I have changed my watering methods slightly in that I understand that watering can wash caterpillars and other insects off plants and damage or kill them. Hopefully we are all becoming more mindful of the things that live around us and are treating them with the care and respect they are entitled to.

Do caterpillars poo? Yes they do. See the caterpillar in the centre of the picture excreting a green blob. These caterpillars are apparently smelly and contain mustard oils to deter predators. Many are parasitised by small wasps. So far, all of these caterpillars are keeping out of trouble and doing very well.