[11] This millipede has been recorded across most of Europe and introduced to the northeastern United States and Cape Verde, Madeira, the Azores, and the Canaries.

[14][9] This millipede is often found among roots and in potato tubers, where they are suspected of aggravating injury to crops already damaged by other factors.

[9] This species is common in sugar beet fields, where it is considered a pest and sometimes thought to be the primary cause of costly damage.

[16][9] This species ranges from nearly white to light brown, with the appearance of the live millipede turning in part on the intestinal contents visible through the transparent cuticle.

[17][19][11] The adult female features epigynal flanges, a pair of raised ridges along the anterior margin of the ventral surface of the third segment.

The first-staged larva has seven segments and three pairs of legs; it moults six times (sometimes seven for males) before reaching adult size.