VT a. Adult beetle which chews on bark on the undersides of twigs. Otherwise, the beetle is usually considered a secondary pest, attacking the trunks of weakened, dying or dead trees. Small piles of sawdust may be present near the base of trees where larvae have been tunneling. There is a one or two year life cycle.
Adults emerge through circular exit holes in the wood and are present during the summer.
They feed on tender bark of twigs, causing tips to flag. When eggs hatch, young larvae bore a tunnel through the phloem into the cambium. Young larvae mine beneath the bark. Later instars tunnel toward the heartwood. Prior to pupation, the larva turns its tunnel toward the surface, where it pupates behind a chip plug.