The cabbage white butterfly lays their eggs on leafy garden vegetables in the brassica family. This can include cabbage, kale, broccoli, mustard, and arugula to name a few. These eggs will take about seven days to hatch. The cabbage white can lay a few hundred eggs in very large groups. Usually, butterflies lay their eggs one at a time but the cabbage white lays their eggs in groups.

The caterpillars of the cabbage white can grow up to 3/4 of an inch (50 mm) in length. These caterpillars can be very annoying especially if you are growing a leafy vegetable. If you want to grow leafy vegetables you have to make sure you cover them with a net to keep them safe. The caterpillars are usually black with a bright yellow/green stripe. Since so many eggs are laid at once, the caterpillars can look very scary to people who don't know what they are.

Once the caterpillars reach their biggest size, they turn into a chrysalis. The chrysalids look green and have the spikes in a triangle form. They are usually curled up in the middle of a leaf. Unlike other butterflies that attach one end of there chrysalis to a leaf or stick, the cabbage white attaches each end to the leaf. They stay in their chrysalis for about two weeks before they come out.

The cabbage white butterfly is a small-medium butterfly that is mostly white except for a few black spots. As the butterfly gets older, they start to turn a more yellow color. You can tell the difference between males and females by the black dots on their top wings. If there is one dot on each wing, then it is a male. If there are two dots on each wing, it is a female.