It is present throughout the year in southern Florida, where it is limited mostly by availability of host plants. It disperses northward annually, usually arriving in northern Florida in June and other southeastern states in July, where no more than three generations normally occur before cold weather kills the host plants. Apparently they are deposited at night on buds, stems, and the underside of leaves. Initially they are white or greenish, but soon become yellow in color. They measure about 0.7 mm in length and 0.6 mm in width.
Hatching occurs after three to four days.
There are five instars. Newly hatch larvae are colorless, but by the second instar larvae assume a pale yellow-green color. They construct a loose silken structure under leaves which serves to shelter them during the daylight hours. In the fifth instar, larvae have two subdorsal white stripes extending the length of the body. The stripes fade or disappear just prior to pupation, but they are the most distinctive characteristic of the larvae.