The larva attaches itself to the capsule with many silken threads by hooks on its anal and four hind abdominal prolegs.

When the fruit is warmed, for instance by being held in the palm of the hand, the larva twitches, pulling on the threads and causing the characteristic hop.

After completion of the exit hole, it spins a cocoon within the fruit, with a passageway leading to the opening.

Normally in the spring, the moth will force its way out of what remains of the fruit, through the round "trapdoor", leaving behind the pupal casing.

However, careful examination of the source literature revealed that Lucas' name has never been available (a nomen nudum under the ICZN rules), and also that Westwood's original name, Carpocapsa saltitans, had evidently been introduced earlier in that same year (Westwood's first appeared in July 1858 and Lucas' in November).