cabbage looper, (Trichoplusia ni), distinctive green, white-lined larva, or caterpillar, in the owlet moth family Noctuidae (order Lepidoptera). Like other larvae in the subfamily Plusiinae, the cabbage looper has only three pairs of prolegs rather than four, causing it to crawl in a looper fashion similar to the measuring worms in the family Geometridae. It is an economic pest of cabbages and allied crops, particularly in the United States and Europe. The adults, known as Ni moths, migrate considerable distances. They are mottled brown with a pale Y-shaped mark on each forewing. The typical adult wingspan is about 25 mm (1 inch).