The adults are active for one or two months from late spring onwards. About one hundred eggs are laid in batches, beneath the soil and hatch after about two weeks. The larvae develop in the soil for two to four years. They feed on seeds and seedlings and the new tillers of cereal crops, and gnaw their way into roots, finding their food by smell. They feed when the soil temperature exceeds and need moist soil. They are killed by dry conditions or temperatures below about but compensate by moving down through the soil to a meter (yard) or so beneath the surface. They can survive for a long time without feeding. When fully-grown, the larvae pupate in late summer in the soil. The adults emerge two to three weeks later. The insects overwinter as adults and as larvae, the whole life cycle taking up to five years to complete.
