The moths are active and make short flights when disturbed. They are mostly seen to fly at night and remain concealed on the under surface of leaves in the day time. The eggs are laid mostly on the lower side of a leaf particularly on young, tender foliage. The oviposition period is observed to be 2-14 days. The female lays 46 eggs in two days. The mature larva is about 20 mm long, greenish grey in colour and with blackish head. The body is striped longitudinally with five dull white lines. The larval period is from 13-28 days under laboratory condition but under field situation the period may vary. There are five- six larval instars. The mature larva constructs a loose cocoon and pupates. Pupa is slender, orange brown to pale yellowish brown in colour. Depending on the temperature the pupal period ranges from 4-14 days. In normal condition this pest completes about nine generations annually. Overlapping generations are also reported.

      Many larvae web foliage together by spinning web. Spider web like structure can be seen on top of the terminal shoot of the seedling in nurseries and young saplings in the plantations. The larvae remain in groups inside the web, feed on tender leaves, young shoots and inflorescence resulting in partial or complete destruction of terminal buds and ultimately the growing tender leaders die. Sometimes, in the absence of enough leaf material for feeding the larvae browse young tissues of the bark at the peduncle and cause damage. Webs with hundreds of larvae hanging all along the completely denuded rachis of young saplings in the plantation are also seen. Severe epidemics of the pest kill young plantations due to repeated attack.

     The pest can be managed by an integration method of both silvicultural and biological control and with limited use of chemical insecticides.

Mechanical

     In young plantations larvae along with web can be collected and destroyed. Webbed leaves containing larvae can also be easily clipped off and destroyed. In grown up trees the webs containing larvae can be pulled down by winding the silk around a long stick and destroyed by crushing or dropping in a pan of soap water. In the process of removal of web the larvae fall on the ground can be collected and killed.

Botanicals

     Use of neem based products like pure neem oil @ 3% (30ml/litre of water) and neem azal 1% at 30 to 40 ppm (3 to 4 ml/litre of water) were found effective controlling the pest both in lab as well in field condition.

Chemicals

     Foliar spraying of Monocrotophos (0.05%), Quinalphos (0.05%) and Cypermethrin (0.01%) were also found effective in control of the pest.