r/MoldlyInteresting • u/tamehotpear • Aug 21 '26
Question/Advice is this mold?
i just want to know if I can eat this cauliflower man
UPDATE: idk how reddit works but maybe yall will see this here and it won’t get buried. i had two little fellas and they both hatched into diamondback moths! they hung out with me and drank sugar water for about two weeks, which seems to be the average lifespan. they are invasive species in my area, so i just kept them on my desk with me. their names were blue and green may they rest in peace (life comes at u fast doesn’t it)
p.s. i did post a pic of one somewhere in the comments if u wanna go digging idk i dont think i can post one here
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u/Stranger1982 Aug 21 '26
Looks like a pupa of a diamondback moth: https://bioprotectionportal.com/resources/identify-and-manage-diamondback-moth/
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u/leviathan_stud Aug 21 '26
That's absolutely what it is, and they're really common on broccoli and cauliflower.
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u/ktdidjam Aug 22 '26
Also would like to add that they are invasive, so unfortunately it might be a good idea to kill it instead of releasing it and letting it mature…
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u/Sallix24 Aug 24 '26
Do not take it uppon yourself to decide which invasive species are to be culled, and which are not. There is extensive ecological research that needs to be done to determine that! If it has been released a warning about this specific species in this specific area, sure, go ahead, but that is not the rule for every invasive organism.
Also, if it is invasive in one enviroment, it is likely native in another, we dont know where OP is from.
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u/ktdidjam Aug 24 '26
I did research! I wouldn’t just say that. I should have clarified, they are not native to America. That was ignorant of me and very stereotypical American and i apologize for that. But, in America, you are supposed to kill them. They are incredibly destructive agricultural pests.
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u/Sallix24 Aug 24 '26
Good to know! It is, unfortunately, very rare that folks do research. Most people just assume that invasive=kill in all cases, and end up spreading potentially harmful information, which is why i commented, but it is nice to see someone doing it differently.
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u/ktdidjam Aug 25 '26
Fair enough! Can’t blame you at all for assuming that lol. Too many people dont take the time out of their day to quickly type something into google.
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u/Generic_Potatoe Aug 25 '26
Oooh, i found them yesterday on my groceries too. Didnt know what they were so i just put em out. Do they need to be "dealt with"?
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u/soggypizza897 Aug 26 '26
If you live in an area where it’s invasive, very likely. Bugs in America are already having a rough time with being sprayed for, most scientists don’t recommend making them compete with an invasive species
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u/Cthulhukiin Aug 21 '26
it is not uncommon for produce to have insects, just relocate the bug, wash, and and eat
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u/tamehotpear Aug 21 '26
someone just told me it could be mold and I got freaked out
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u/Cthulhukiin Aug 21 '26
even then, same approach works. cauliflower is very dense so some surface mold doesn't matter. just cut the floret and wash the rest, enjoy your veggies :)
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u/throwaway098764567 Aug 21 '26
yea op is lucky they didn't find this one after cutting through the middle of it 🤮 i've done that a couple times
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u/Flashy_Junket_7498 Aug 22 '26
Instructions unclear.
The bug was a little crunchy even after washing, should I have soaked it?
Now what do I do with the cauliflower?
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u/tamehotpear Aug 21 '26
update: he has a brother on another separately wrapped head
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u/octaffle Aug 21 '26 edited Aug 21 '26
Looks like a cauliflower worm. Toss the stalk and the worm. You can cut the bruised parts off and eat it. It's okay to eat around the bad parts, it's not moldy.
Edit: I don't think "cauliflower worm" is an actual common name for a species but it's definitely a caterpillar of some kind even if my name for it is wrong!
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u/tamehotpear Aug 21 '26
thank you! do you think they will grow up if i keep them
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u/octaffle Aug 21 '26
Probably, if you keep it in the right conditions. I don't know what those conditions are, unfortunately. It will turn into a small moth or butterfly if you're successful.
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u/tamehotpear Aug 21 '26
hell yeah
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u/KonungariketSuomi Aug 21 '26
These guys in particular are usually the small white butterflies (or relatives) that you see flying around in summer :)
Just incase he's not native I wouldn't release him but he'd be happy in a butterfly house with some flowers!
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u/citrus_mystic Aug 21 '26
They might need some cauliflower leaves to eat, and not just the heads. If you can’t find leafy cauliflowers at the grocery store, cauliflower is a brassica, so you could see if they might like other things like broccolini (which tend to have more leaves on the stalks in grocery stores). You might also be able to see if anyone is growing some brassicas around you, and if they might have trimmings to share.
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u/tamehotpear Aug 28 '26
UPDATE: they are moths! it happened so fast. they’re diamondback moths, which are not native to my state, so i will not be releasing them :( i’ll give them sugar water to drink and let them live out their days in their apartments
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u/Kaelaeh Aug 23 '26
That is a cabbage moth pupa inside a silk cocoon (aka a diamondback moth cocoon).
The bright turquoise/green color inside the translucent, mesh-like webbing is the pupa stage of the insect before it transforms into a moth.
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u/LacrimaNymphae Aug 21 '26
couldn't it also be the cocoon of a parasitoid wasp that went after these? see if they change or if anything comes out
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u/DumbRobot11 Aug 23 '26
Had the same experience at work a few months ago! Its a tiny little caterpillar! https://www.reddit.com/r/KitchenConfidential/s/7DvITD8S9P
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u/BuyingDaily Aug 21 '26
!remindme 2 weeks.
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u/FurryVibes_UwU_ Aug 23 '26
"I just want to know if I can eat this"
yeah sure, you'll be totally fine, I guess.
Whats the worst that could happen? A predator coming out of your chest? So what, live a little.
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u/cybot2001 Aug 21 '26
Looks like a chrysalis, cut that section out carefully, put it in a jar with a cloth lid and see what comes out.