It is found in the southern Rolling Plains and prefers to feed on mesquite and several acacia species. It is found in the Gulf Coast Prairie, south Texas and Rio Grande Valley and injures mostly mimosa and huisache. Thereafter, they crawl above the girdled site and insert cream-colored oval eggs singly into notches chewed into the bark. Larvae hatch from eggs in about 7 days and begin tunneling underneath the bark. A few of the larvae do not complete development until May or June of the second year, which accounts for a small amount of girdling damage occurring in the spring.
Mouthparts are for chewing.
Pecan twig girdlers attack citrus, elm, hackberry, hickory, huisache, mimosa, pecan, persimmon, red oak, retama, tepehuaje, Texas ebony, walnut and various fruit trees. Twigs selected by female beetles to girdle range in diameter from 9-12 mm. Severe girdling can disfigure trees. Damage appears mainly in late summer and fall when adult beetles are active. Leaves on the girdled branches turn die and fall, and the branches often fall from the tree during high winds and storms.