[Note 1] It is used in North America as a biological pest control agent against saltcedar or tamarisk (Tamarix spp.

Adults become active and begin feeding and mating in the early spring when tamarisk leaves are budding.

[8] 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.

[9] Larvae and adults are sensitive to shorter daylengths as the summer progresses that signal the coming of winter and induce diapause.

[10] Robert Bartelt and Allard Cossé (USDA-ARS, Peoria, Illinois) found that male larger tamarisk beetle emit a putative aggregation pheromone, similar to that found in Diorhabda carinulata,[11] that could serve to attract both males and females to certain tamarisk trees.

Populations of larger tamarisk beetle from around 39°N latitude near Qarshi, Uzbekistan were initially released by the USDA Agricultural Research Service in west Texas in 2006.

Recovery of native riparian grasses can be quite rapid under the once closed canopy of repeatedly defoliated tamarisk.

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