If you ever want to see these characters under a microscope, please contact me. Moths will sometimes deposit eggs lower in the plant during periods of stress to the cotton plants, high temperatures, and low humidity. The egg is a pearly-white to cream color about half the size of a pinhead. Do not confuse these eggs with the egg of the cabbage looper which are flatter, slightly greenish, and laid on the undersides of leaves. Eggs hatch in 3-4 days turning brown as they near the hatching date.
Cotton bollworm is usually the predominant larval pest found during most of the growing season.
The CBW is also known as the corn earworm when it is found in corn. As corn silks start drying down about this time of the year, bollworm moths will move to cotton to lay their eggs. Consequently, the proportion of TBWs in infestations tends to increase due to selection pressure once pyrethroid insecticides are applied for worm control. Also, aphids and other secondary pests may increase after pyrethroid use. Finding eggs and small larvae in the terminals of plants may be the first sign of a worm outbreak.