Moths have siphoning mouthparts. Tomato pinworms are a major pest of greenhouse grown tomatoes, but will also infest field grown tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant. Caterpillars can be picked from infested plants. Adults can be reared from larvae or pupae, collected in pheromone traps or blacklight traps. Female moths lay greenish-white eggs singly, mainly on the stems, squares and bolls of cotton.
Caterpillars grow to inch and are whitish to pink with yellow-brown head capsules.
Developing larvae bore into and feed on the developing flower or into a boll and feed on the seed. In bolls, larvae tunnel through the boll wall and cut through the lint fiber as they move from seed to seed, causing stained lint and seeds with reduced weight, vitality and oil content. Larvae feed for 10 to 14 days before cutting out of the boll to pupate in the soil. Development from egg to adult occurs in 25 to 35 days. Larvae and pupae of the overwintering generation remain in seed inside the boll.