There is one generation per year. The adult, shown here, is the only stage that attacks cones. They may eat the complete floral structure. Cone weevils are typical snout beetles. They are important pests of some pine species.
Adults emerge in the spring.
They first feed on shoots and male flowers. After mating the female chews a hole into the cone, often on the underside and deposits 1-6 eggs. The pine cone weevil, Conotrachelus neomexicanus shown here is primarily a problem in the western U.S. 8. The larvae of the cone weevil first feeds on the outer cone tissue but then begin mining toward the center, filling the tunnel behind them with fine frass. The feeding and tunneling activities destroys all of the internal structures of the cone.