The pupal stage is completed in about 3 to 4 weeks. Adults begin emerging from the soil during early July. Adult females usually delay depositing eggs for 2 to 3 weeks after emergence. See also mint flea beetle management and control. Females have wings, but seldom disperse by flight.
Males are incapable of flight.
Therefore, dispersal is usually slow and occurs by hopping or walking. At harvest, adults disperse to adjacent fields or to margins of fields seeking uncut plants. Eggs may either be deposited in mint fields or along field margins. Egg laying continues into the fall until the onset of freezing temperatures. There is one complete generation each year.