Cotton IPM Plan: Spider Mites, Aphids, and Whitefly

Spider Mites, Aphids, and Whitefly—Early Squaring Through Boll Development

Each name links to more information on identification and management.

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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.

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.

Whitefly
Identification tip: Silverleaf whitefly adults are tiny (0.06 inch, 1.5 mm long), yellowish insects with white wings. Their wings are held somewhat vertically tilted, or rooflike, over the body and generally do not meet over the back but have a small space separating them. Greenhouse and bandedwinged whiteflies may also infest cotton.

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