Larvae feed on corn foliage, cotton, roses and a wide variety of trees and shrubs. There is believed to be only one generation in most years with overwintering passed as a pupa inside a tough oval cocoon, often enclosed in leaves on the ground. Moths emerge in the spring and summer, mate and lay eggs. The sting mechanism is similar to the puss caterpillar, but usually less severe. Hosts include hackberry, oak, maple, sycamore, elm, English ivy, rose and other plants.
Stings can be quite painful.
There is an intense local burning at the contact site, soon radiating a considerable distance as localized swelling occurs. The inflammation can spread several inches around the sting and, in sensitive persons, lymph nodes under arms and in the groin may enlarge. Victims may experience headaches, become weak and nauseated with shock-like symptoms usually within two hours after contact. Severity of symptoms depends on individual sensitivity, size of larvae, number of spines contacted, pressure against the caterpillar and sting site. These stings are considered the most severe of all the stinging caterpillars.