Spider mites (Tetranychus spp.) are a serious pest in California cotton. Field scouting followed by pesticide application to an entire field is the usual method for detection and control of these pests. In this study, the Shafter Airborne Multispectral Remote Sensing System (SAMRSS) was flown over cotton fields to determine if spider mites could be detected early enough in the season for farmers to take corrective action. Images were acquired on 29 dates during the 1999 growing season in the green (550 nm), red (660 nm), and near infrared (850 nm) wavelengths. Images taken of these fields revealed little information about the status of mites in the fields. However, an image processing protocol was developed from which mite damaged regions could be identified in post-processed image maps shortly after they were detected on the ground. Thus, remote sensing can be an important tool that through image processing could provide information in the form of maps to field scouts to assist in locating spider mite infestations. Additionally, pesticide applications could be reduced by applying only to regions identified as being infested by mites.