Eggs are laid singly or grouped in two s and three s on the host-plant foliage. The eggs are opaque to pale yellow when laid, but turn orange before hatching. The first instar larvae spin a tent of silk over themselves and tunnel into the leaf. Further feeding results in a blotch-like mine usually on the same leaf. The third and fourth larval stages feed from within tied leaves, folded portions of a leaf, or enter stems or fruits.
Mature larvae abandon the host and form a loose pupal cell of sand grains near the soil surface.
The adult emerges from this pupal cell two to four weeks later. Although the life cycle is lengthy, generations overlap and infestations quickly mount to damaging proportions. Seven or eight generations or more per year can be expected. Tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum L., is infested most commonly, but eggplant, Solanum melongena L. var esculentum Nees, and potatoes, Solanum tuberosum L. also are attacked. Weeds such as S. carolinense L., S. xanthii Gray, and S. umbelliferum Esch.