This species bores in the trunks and upper roots of wattles. It may pupate below ground level and the pupa protrudes from the soil before the moth emerges. Hepialids like Abantiades atripalpis have underground larvae that feed on roots of eucalypts from the outside, and the moth emerges in a similar way to Endoxyla encalypti. In mid summer, such an emerging pupa is likely to be a cossid, and in mid autumn to early winter, a hepialid.