[1] Adults are between 8-10mm in length, predominantly brown, with a yellow connexivum interrupted by black bars (on the sides of the abdomen).

[2] Eggs are around 0.9mm in height and diameter, pale yellowish-green when first deposited, but which subsequently take on a lemon yellow colour, and finally pink closer to hatching.

Host plants include Brassica rapa, Fragaria sp., Medicago sativa, Pisum sp., Rubus spp., Solanum aviculare, Trifolium repens, Zea mays, fodder beet, grapes, turnips, and potatoes.

australasica, Carmichaelia sp., Olearia, Coprosma rhamnoides, Cordyline australis, Dacrydium cupressinum, Festuca novae-zelandiae, Hebe salicifolia, Muehlenbeckia sp., and Myoporum laetum.

[2] A number of natural enemies have been recorded using D. caenosus as a host, including the tachinid Cylindromyia bimacula (Walker) in Australia,[6] and the platygastrid egg parasitoids Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) and T. oenone (Dodd) in New Zealand.