They develop over a period of 3 to 5 years. Heavily-infested mature trees, particularly in sandy soils, slowly decline and die. They do not feed, are active at night and emerge in June and July. Mated females dig burrows at the base of the tree and lay yellowish-white elliptical eggs in niches of chewed, shredded bark around the crown and buttress roots. Development requires 1 and occasionally 2 years before larvae pupate within larval galleries.
Mouthparts are for chewing.
Cottonwood borers primarily infest cottonwood, but also occur on poplars and willows. Adults can be found on infested host plants during the daytime. Adults are commonly encountered on trunks and branches of cottonwood and willow trees and other host plants during the summer months. Infested mature trees are usually not seriously injured. More commonly, they structurally weaken the tree causing it to fall over in high winds.