[1] It is used as an agent of biological pest control against the noxious weed yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) in the United States.

The adult weevil is dark brown or black with light colored mottled hairs on its body.

The female lays glossy, milky white, oval-shaped eggs at the bases of open yellow starthistle flowers.

[1] The larva emerges from its egg in a few days and goes inside the flower head, where it feeds on the developing seeds.

[1] There have been field reports of large numbers of adult L. curtis feeding on safflower flowers Carthamus tinctorius, but no evidence that larvae have successfully developed on this plant.