(For images of various life stages of a related species, see Diorhabda carinulata at commons) Five generations of MTB occur through spring and fall in central Texas (Milbrath et al. 2007, Tracy and Robbins 2009).

Similar to the northern tamarisk beetle, adults begin to enter diapause in the late summer and early fall, ceasing reproduction and feeding to build fat bodies before seeking a protected place to overwinter (Lewis et al. 2003).

Larvae and adults are sensitive to shorter daylengths as the summer progresses that signal the coming of winter and induce diapause (Bean et al. in prep.).

Populations of MTB from around 35°N latitude near Sfakaki, Crete, Greece were initially released by the USDA Agricultural Research Service in west Texas and northern California in 2003.

The southern tamarisk beetle, (Diorhabda meridionalis) has not been introduced into North America, but may be best adapted to subtropical maritime desert habitats (Tracy and Robbins 2009).

A primary objective of tamarisk biological control with the MTB is to reduce competition by exotic tamarisk with a variety of native riparian flora, including trees (willows, cottonwoods, and honey mesquite), shrubs (wolfberry, saltbush, and baccharis), and grasses (alkali sacaton, saltgrass, and vinemesquite).

In some areas, tamarisk may be replaced by grasslands or shrublands, resulting in losses of riparian forest habitats for birds (Tracy and DeLoach 1999).