Females lay creamy white eggs in clusters of up to 15 eggs on grass blades, stems and turf debris. Development from egg to adult occurs in about 6 weeks. Several generations occur during the year, but those occurring in the fall are larger, overlapping and potentially more damaging to turfgrass. This species only survives in areas with mild winters that allow all stages to continue to develop. Caterpillars have chewing mouthparts.
Adults have siphoning mouths.
Caterpillars feed during the night on turfgrasses, including Bermudagrass, St. Augustinegrass, centipedegrass, Bahiagrass, and zoysiagrass. Injured grass blades initially appear notched and ragged as tissues are removed from the edges until the entire leaf is consumed. Injured turf is usually spotty within a lawn, but damaged areas enlarge as caterpillars migrate in search of more food. Heavily injured turfgrass may die but usually recovers. St. Augustine grass recovers more slowly than bermudagrass.