Egg-laying females make two rings of punctures around the stem of new plant growth. They slit the bark between the girdling wounds lengthwise and insert eggs singly under the bark flaps. Hatched larvae bore into the stem between the two girdles, tunnel short distances toward the twig tip, then reverse direction and bore down the center of the stem.

At intervals along the stem, larvae make small holes to the bark surface through which they expel frass. Galleries in elm twigs have been measured up to 15 cm long. Pupation begins in April and May and occurs in small chambers behind fibrous frass plugs.