There are 3 to 4 generations per year. The insects overwinter as prepupae in soil under infested trees. The small black sawfly adults emerge in May and early June, and lay eggs in individual slits cut in the upper surface of developing leaves. Adult females require newly developing foliage for successful oviposition. Larvae eat the tissue between the upper and lower leaf surfaces, and eventually chew through the leaf surface and drop to the ground to pupate.
New adults emerge and lay eggs to continue the cycle.
Damage tends to be more serious on open-growing ornamental birches than on trees in forest stands. Trees weakened by birch leafminer may be more susceptible to attack by other insects and pathogens. Control of the first generation greatly reduces damage by subsequent generations. Prevention of egg-laying at budbreak may be accomplished using systemic pesticides. This insect may also be controlled by applying appropriate pesticides as the new leaves emerge.