Males also fan out their abdominal hairs, open their genital claspers, and partially stick out their spermatophores.

Mating multiply can be advantageous to both sexes, which is why this strategy has evolved in many species, including the cabbage looper.

For female cabbage loopers, rate of oviposition increases with the number of matings, and ultimately lay more eggs total.

For male cabbage loopers, multiple matings did not affect the quality of their spermatophores, suggesting that they can maximize reproductive opportunities without decreasing fecundity.

This role reversal can occur for a variety of reasons: environmental conditions, timing of fertilization, and biased sex ratios.

[8] The cabbage looper generally utilizes typical mating strategies, in that males compete for females.

This only happens under particular selection conditions, such as a shortage of males or host plants that bias the sex ratio towards females.

[10] This choice is also influenced by insect waste, also known as larval frass, as its presence serves as a chemical deterrent for potential mothers.

Because they are nocturnal, adults spend their days protected by their host plants and begin activity 30 minutes before sunset.

[14] Cabbage looper populations in North America migrate from Mexico to Canada, depending on the seasons.

However, it is not preferred because gummosis, a gummy substance produced by some plants, and trichomes, hair-like appendages, harm early larvae survival.

[29] Cabbage loopers are unique in that both females and males release pheromones in order to seek a mate.

The neurons are specifically located on two sensory structures called sensilla that differ in length and pore density.

The neurons are most sensitive to the main component of the female pheromone blend, cis-7-dodecenyl acetate, and the male inhibitory signal, cis-7-dodecenol.

The base region of the antennae, where receptor neurons for this pheromone are located, has more sensory structures than the ends.

[35] Other common predators of cabbage looper larva include Orius tristicolor, Nabis americoferus, and Geocoris pallens.

It is early enough in the larval stage that the maggots still have time to feed and grow before pupation can prevent parasite emergence.

It is often used as a biological insecticide for numerous insect pests, including the cabbage looper, and reduces both growth rate and pupal weight.

[42] The cabbage looper has demonstrated resistance to Bt, specifically the toxin Cry1Ac, due to an autosomal recessive allele.

[48][49] It encodes at least 108 cytochrome P450 enzymes, 34 glutathione S-transferases, 87 carboxylesterases, and 54 ATP-binding cassette transporters, some of which may be involved in its insecticide resistance.

[46][50] The PiggyBac Transposon, a widely used tool for genetic engineering, was originally discovered in the cabbage looper and subsequently identified in other taxa as well.

The larvae eat large holes in the underside of leaves and consume developing cabbage heads.

[1][52] There is extensive research in cabbage looper pheromones for the goal of developing traps to catch the moth.

[53] The synthetic female pheromone has been used with black light traps to study cabbage looper populations in various regions of the US.

[27] Further studies in Arizona showed that pheromone baited black light traps are not effective in managing the cabbage looper.

However, the effect was not large enough to cease using insecticides, as farming standards require crops that are basically insect-free.

Studies have shown that this pyrethroid insecticide is effective at killing cabbage looper eggs, and its usage is permitted in the US.

[57] An effective option is to use synthetic and biological insecticides together; this method seems to both control the population and slow the development of resistance, but it still requires the usage of toxic chemicals.

Recent studies, however, have demonstrated that cabbage loopers resistant to B. thuringiensis are twice as susceptible to NPVs, which provides insight into novel biological control methods.

Although serum helps insect cell growth, it is very expensive and can hinder subsequent experimental procedures.