Caterpillars

           

This Honesty (Lunaria Annua) has been stripped by caterpillars - but what are they? 

A few clues to help you - 

Lunaria is the favourite food plant of the Orange tip butterfly.

Lunaria is a member of the brassica family.

The flowers and leaves are edible and taste of cabbage.

? Cabbage whites? Or is it a trick question . Down with cabbage whites, I say, but I expect there are some that say they have a usefulness in the food chain or summat.
My mum used to say, when the sparrowhawk flew in for a hot meal, 'I like nature but not in my garden!'

No, JJB, its not a trick question - its a trick caterpillar!!
I searched for butterflies that use Honesty for their larvae and the only that came up was Orange Tip which is lovely and I would be happy to sacrifice my Honesty to. https://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/foodplants.php
The caterpillar is NOT Orange tip though - its the usual Large Cabbage White that destroys my garden.

The moral is - don't be fooled by what you read on the internet.

Why just your honesty though and not your other brassicas?

PS I didn't know honesty was a brassica prior to your post, so I've learned summat today. 

Its quite a way from the perennial kale (untouched) and there aren't many decent size brassicas in the garden yet.
Its also the only Honesty I've noticed them on (and there's lots of that), Will have another look tomorrow - see if I can find some more of the little monsters.

Large white. They've been fluttering around my lunaria for a couple of weeks now. Sadly the caterpillars are too hairy for the bluetits to relish as a meal so my honesty is destined to go the same way as yours.

Large White caterpillars seem to be able to eat any brassica. Last year I found them eating watercress.

That's odd I've never spotted any caterpillar activity on my Honesty will have to keep an eye out for them.

Does that make honesty a worthy sacrifice for my brassicas, for me it's about finding a preferred alternative. Hence why I grow marigolds at the base of my runner beans so that when they get transplanted there is a preferred food source nearby. I can't beat nature she's the boss but, if I can give her a worthy free meal and save mine I'm happy to do so.

A tiny update - all the caterpillars have left the Honesty which has been stripped to the stalk. I haven't found any caterpillars on any other Honesty!!