Most of the details of the life history are not known. the eggs are laid in the leaf sheaths or top of the crown; they hatch in three to ten days, and the newly emerged larvae feed on the inner leaves as they work their way to the roots. Pupation in the soil or in the roots occurs after three to five weeks. Adults have been found every month of the year, but most activity has been noted in the fall and winter. Nearly all the members of this genus feed on grasses and sedges. Its occurrence in Fontenelle Forest is not known.

It is a member of the Dryopthorinae subfamily which have football shaped bodies. Billbug larva are often confused with white grubs, which is the name usually given to beetle larvae in the genus Phyllophaga, family Scarabaeidae.