[1] The body is brown with yellowing striping on the legs and abdomen, and can give the appearance that the ash borer is a paper wasp.

[2][3] Ash borer adults feed on nectar and will lay their eggs in the bark of lilac, ash, and privet, but can attack closely related plants in its range within North America.

[1] Pupae overwinter in the feeding gallery and emerge as adults the following spring.

Adults begin to emerge between April and July or 300 to 500 growing degree days above 50 °F (10 °C) or about one week after full bloom of lilac.

[3] In areas where ash borers are present and causing damage, insecticides can be applied to the trunk and branches before larvae chew into the bark.