There is one generation per year. Apple sucker overwinters in the egg stage. The eggs are straw coloured and are found on the bark mainly on the fruit spurs generally along leaf scars.
- Egg hatch begins in late March or April at bud-burst of Cox and Bramley and is complete by green cluster.
- The newly hatched nymphs are orange brown with red eyes. They invade the bursting buds and blossom trusses feeding on the green tissue.
- Drops of honeydew and conspicuous white or irridescent waxy threads are secreted by the nymphs and these are visible in infested trusses. No sooty mould is associated with the honeydew.
- After a second moult, the nymphs become bright green and develop wing buds.
- Feeding continues and after 4-6 weeks the first adults appear.
- The adults live and feed on apple throughout the summer and early autumn.
- Egg laying begins towards the end of August and continues for about one month. The adults then die.