And the Cabbage Butterflies Came

May 5, 2025

On Thursday (May 1), after I got back from PT, I saw the fluttering white cabbage butterflies in the turnips, mustard greens, collards and Japanese mustards. My heart sank as the butterflies fluttered away as I approached.

I tried to spot the butterfly eggs, but didn’t see any. What I did see were harlequin bugs and a small black beetle.

Ugh! The insects had come to town to feast on my mustard family vegetables…

I filled a small bowl with soapy water and a spray bottle with soapy water. I proceeded the pick off the harlequin bugs and drop them into the soapy water. Bruce came over to see what I was doing. He helped pick off the harlequin bugs. I also tried to capture the small black beetles, but they were much harder to capture. I even found some tiny cabbage worms (caterpillars).

I sprayed the underside of the plants with the soapy water to kill off the free loaders.

After my battle with the insects, Bruce and I sheet mulched around the rest of the fruit trees. We then sheet mulched around the raspberries.

We used up all the leaves Bruce had raked up and carried to the back pasture.

The sunset was spectacular.

The pink faded away and just a few minutes later, this is what the sunset looked like.

I would’ve expected the two pictures to be reversed.

Here’s the final picture of the sunset.