Young trees or branches may be girdled and killed. Larvae feed in the phloem at the wood-bark interface, making irregular tunnels that score the wood. Pales weevils are serious pests of pine seedlings. They become active in the spring, congregating near freshly cut stumps. In Georgia, adults are often active throughout the year in warm winters.
Females burrow underground, chew small niches in root bark, and lay one to three eggs.
Young larvae feed in bark phloem and grow to a length of about 12 mm. Mature larvae plug their galleries with wood shavings and pupate in a chamber in the bark or within the sapwood. Adults usually emerge by the end of September and feed for a period before entering diapause. Adults are long lived and may survive two consecutive winters. Control usually is not practical to prevent injury to larger trees under forest situations.