The sexes can be distinguished by the presence (males) or absence (females) of a tuft of black-brown hairs in the middle of the fourth abdominal sternite.

[2] Larvae are 13–15 mm long when mature, and are dark with a pale band along the dorsal surface of the body.

[2] On the ninth abdominal segment is a pair of horn-like protrusions (urogomphi) which curve anteriorly.

[2] Eventually the larvae stop feeding and seek shelter inside the material to pupate.

[2] This species is used in forensic entomology to estimate the post-mortem interval (the time that a human corpse has been dead for).