The life history of this moth was first reported in detail by Grossenbacher (1910), from whom some of the information in the following account is drawn. In Grossenbacher's publication the insect is identified as Opostega nonstrigella (a moth currently known as Pseudopostega albogaleriella) based on a determination made by A. Busck. This identification was in error; the correct identification for the so-called "gooseberry barkminer" is Opostegoides scioterma (Davis and Stonis 2007; van Nieukerken 2016-2024).

The larva of this moth forms a looping elliptical tunnel under the outermost layers of the hostplant's stem tissue. Upon maturing in June, the larva abandons the stem via a semicircular exit slit and drops to the ground, where it spins a brownish cocoon (Grossenbacher 1910). Around this time or shortly after, usually by late June, some affected stems will wilt and/or develop a browned necrotic area that covers several centimeters up from near the lower turn of the larva's tunnel. Removing the bark of such a browned area will sometimes reveal cecidomyiid larvae within or adjacent to the tunnels recently abandoned by the opostegid larva. The exact nature of the relationship between the cecidomyiid and the opostegid is unclear, but Grossenbacher (ibid.) found a fungus associated with the cecidomyiid and believed the semicircular exit slit of the opostegid was the weak point that allowed invasion by both the fly and the fungus. R.J. Gagné (pers. comm.) examined photos of the cecidomyiid larvae from the current study and noticed morphological variation that he suggested could possibly be explained by two different cecidomyiid species being present, but this could not be determined with certainty from the photos that were shared with him.

Most of the O. scioterma adults observed by Grossenbacher emerged from cocoons between 2 and 10 July. His initial discovery of this moth involved the finding of larvae of different sizes in mid-May, mining both in new shoots and in the transition point between the new shoot and the previous season's growth. Some larvae he found in the upper parts of the new shoots at that time were only about 3mm in length, while those near the bases of the shoots were larger. From this he concluded that adults and/or some pupae lived through the winter and adults oviposited from April through mid-May, with the earliest eggs giving rise to the largest larvae near the bases of the new shoots by mid-May.

However, Davis and Stonis (2007) point out that "adult records of O. scioterma do not support an early spring oviposition (i.e., flight) period" (p. 11). Furthemore, evidence from the current study suggests opostegids on Blephilia, Mentha, and Monarda (Pseudopostega spp.) often overwinter as middle-instar larvae in perennial belowground tissue of the hosts. Finally, in a paper describing life history details of Opostegoides minodensis on Betula in Japan, Hara and Yahagi (1990) summarize the results of Kumata (1984) by stating, in part, "it is presumed that [individuals of this moth] overwinter as young or middle-aged larvae" (p. 284; trans. ed. E.J. van Nieukerken). Thus it seems reasonable to suppose that some individuals of O. scioterma could follow the pattern of other species in the family and overwinter as early- to middle-instar larvae. Since Ribes is a woody perennial, the overwintering location could be the previous season's aboveground canes, from which larvae could migrate into the bases of new shoots in spring. Further investigation would be needed to assess this hypothesis.