Winter is spent in later larval stages and pupation occurs in the spring. The pupal stage lasts about 2 weeks and adults appear in early summer. Female beetles lay clusters of eggs in the soil. Once there, the larva develops through a number of stages, each with progressively reduced appendages and increasingly grub-like in appearance. Generally, one generation occurs per year although some develop in 35 to 50 days while in others, development takes 3 years.
Mouthparts are for chewing.
Blister beetle species feed on flowers and foliage of a wide variety of crops including alfalfa, ornamental plants, potatoes, soybeans, garden vegetables and other plants. Immature stages feed on grasshopper eggs, live in solitary bee hives or are predaceous, depending on species. Adults can be found on flowers or infested crops. Care should be taken to not handle them. Never handle blister beetles preserved in alcohol because the cantharadin dissolves in alcohol and will cause blisters on the skin.