The female beetle is very small, about 2mm, the size of a sesame seed, and can fly. The male is smaller than the female and is unable to fly.
The beetle has more than one generation per year and many different life stages can be found in the tree at the same time.
Photo credit Anandi Bierman
The beetle has a haplodiploid reproductive system, meaning that an unmated female can lay eggs producing males for the female to mate with. If a female is mated, both male and female offspring will be produced.
A single female can lay an average of 32 eggs. An egg develops into an adult within approximately 22 days at 24°C.