Mouthparts are piercing-sucking. This insect overwinters as eggs laid in linear slits near branch tips of woody plants. Eggs hatch in late spring after most foliage has emerged. The nymphs feed on the upper sides of leaves, withdrawing chlorophyll with their piercing-sucking mouthparts. Approximately 30 days and five molts later, the adults appear.
Adults feed for about a month, then mate and the female lays eggs.
There is only one generation each year. Hosts Pirone lists eight herbaceous perennials, three annuals and three woody shrubs as hosts for this insect. Johnson and Lyon say it feeds on 250 plant species. Azalea, dogwood, forsythia, honeysuckle, hydrangea, viburnum and weigela are some of the more common shrubs attacked. Shasta daisy, coreopsis, dahlia, morning glory, lavender, lupine, geranium and zinnia are some annuals and perennials that are attacked.