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Cotton > Year-Round IPM Program > Crop Emergence—Seedling Growth > Spider Mites, Aphids, and Thrips

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Cotton

Spider Mites, Aphids, and Thrips on Seedling Cotton

Each name links to more information on identification and management.

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Strawberry spider mite.
Spider mites
Identification tip: To the naked eye, spider mites appear as tiny moving dots. Adult females are about 0.01 inch (0.3 mm) long. Spider mites live in colonies, mostly on the lower surfaces of leaves, and produce a webbing that can cover much of the undersurface of the leaf. Adults have 8 legs and an oval body, usually with 2 red eyespots near the head. Eggs are spherical and translucent. Immatures resemble adults and feed on leaves in the same way.

Adult cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii.
Cotton Aphid
Identification tip: Cotton aphid is highly variable in body size and color, and adults may be winged or wingless. Nymphs and adults of wingless cotton aphids vary in color from yellow to green to nearly black.

 Adult western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis.
Thrips
Identification tip: Thrips are tiny, slender insects less than 0.06 inch (1.55 mm) long. They are light colored; adults have clear, slender wings. Damaged leaves are distorted.

Statewide IPM Program, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California
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