This species resembles the closely related cabbage root fly in appearance though it is slightly larger at seven to eight millimetres long.

They are white and cigar-shaped and are laid in groups of thirty or forty eggs at the root collar of the host plant or on the ground nearby.

[2] The turnip root fly is found in Western Europe, Russia, Northeast China, Korea, Japan and North America.

[2] The larvae damage the roots of cabbage, turnip, radish, swede and other cruciferous crops.

[2] Large scale attacks cause cessation of growth with the plants exhibiting a leaden hue and wilting, subsequently turning yellow and dying.