Larvae are of the measuring-worm type, with prolegs only on the last two segments of the abdomen. Color of larvae is highly variable, ranging from yellow-green to red to nearly black. Larvae reach a length of about 4 cm. The pupal stage lasts about ten days and is spent in a loose web spun before pupation on a leaf or berry cluster. Adults emerge in midsummer and lay overwintering eggs.
Adults live two or three days.
There is one generation annually. A related species, the greater grapevine looper, E. gracilineata Guenee, has been more commonly collected in North Carolina in some years.