Small larvae eat a very small amount, but when full grown have a voracious appetite. Upon reaching full size, they dig into the ground and pupate. After a short period in the soil, a new summer generation of adult beetles emerges in late-May and June. New beetles move from small grain fields and feed on grass plants, including corn in fields adjacent to the small grain fields. Adult feeding on corn appears like many line-etchings on the leaf blades.
Damage is cosmetic rather than yield reducing.
Adults do not lay eggs in corn. They remain inactive through most of the summer. In the fall, beetles move to overwinter ing sites. There is only one generation per year. Larvae eat long strips of green tissue from between leaf veins and may skeletonize entire leaves, leaving only the transparent lower leaf surface tissue.