Adults emerge in early spring and feed on young foliage, resulting in leaf holes and deformed bracts and seed heads. Adults are elongate (≤8 mm long) and have long snouts. They have black bodies with mottled tan-yellow hairs, though the hairs can sometimes rub off. Eggs are laid inside developing seed heads. Larvae feed on developing seeds and receptacle tissue throughout summer. Larvae are white with brown head capsules, C-shaped, and are up to 5 mm long. They develop through three instars and pupate within seed heads. Adults emerge in late summer and early fall, then overwinter in plant litter. There is one generation per year.