Populations of whiteflies increase rapidly in warm weather, each generation taking as little as 12 to 14 days. In cool weather, development from egg to adult may take 2 months. Damage Populations usually begin building around field edges and spread gradually over the field. Both adult and immature whiteflies damage cotton by sucking out plant sap with their piercing-sucking mouthparts. Infested leaves lack vigor, wilt, and may turn yellow.
Further damage is caused by the sugary honeydew the whiteflies secrete when feeding.
Black sooty mold develops on the honeydew, staining the lint, reducing crop quality, and interfering with photosynthesis. Lint contaminated with honeydew can cause sticky cotton, which creates problems with ginning and spinning cotton. Management and Control Bandedwinged whiteflies have great potential for damaging cotton because of their tremendous reproductive potential. Although naturally occurring fungi, parasites, and predators aid in controlling these pests, whitefly populations often build up so rapidly that they can overwhelm beneficial insects. Also, populations of beneficial insects are often reduced by the insecticides used to control other insect pests in cotton.