They have long antennae that are at least as long as the body and black and white banded. Adults are present from August through October in China, peaking in July. They have been reported as early as mid-May by New York residents. Adult beetles feed on the bark of twigs and small branches after emerging. They may migrate as much as six-tenths of a mile in search of host trees.
Females chew a three-eighths inch diameter pit through the bark and then lay an egg in each pit.
Individual adults live for several weeks with each female laying 25 to 32 eggs. The hatching larva tunnels just under the bark in the cambium. Older larvae tunnel deep into the tree at an upwards angle with larval tunnels being four to six inches long. Larvae push frass consisting of wood fibers and feces out of the tunnels. This results in piles of sawdust below active tunnels.