It extracts sap from terminals, squares, flowers, and bolls, causing young fruiting forms to be shed. Infested flowers and bolls may open prematurely. The immature mite may have 6 or 8 legs. Feeding on the underside of the leaf, this mite extracts sap, causing the upper leaf surface to have a whitish or bronze cast. Severe infestations can result in defoliation and loss of plant vigor.
Silken webs are common on the underside of infested leaves, particularly along the large leaf veins.
B. Caterpillars that chew or mine the foliage or sever seedling stems. This larva normally skeletonizes foliage but at times feeds on squares, blooms, and bolls causing economic loss to cotton. Although this green, brown, or black caterpillar primarily attacks blooms, squares, and bolls, it also feeds on the foliage, occasionally tops plants, and bores into stems. It has a black, longitudinal stripe down each side of its body and a yellowish-gray stripe down its back. This insect rarely reaches damaging levels on cotton but is most injurious to seedlings.