The fly is found through various areas in the Northern hemisphere and has brown and orange coloration with distinctive large red eyes.

Dryomyzidae were previously part of Sciomyzidae but are now considered a separate family with two subfamilies.

Male D. anilis engage in territorial behavior, guarding carcasses to attract potential mates.

[3] Generally, the species can be separated from other species of Dryomyzidae by their nearly-bare arista (apical bristle), covered lunule (a crescent-shaped mark, found around the wing margins), and developed prostigmatic and prescutellar bristles.

Therefore, though Dryomyzidae were previously part of Sciomyzidae, the family is now considered separate and has two subfamilies: Dryomyzinae and Helcomyzidae.

[3]Adult flies are found in moist, shady habitats among low-growing vegetation and excrement.

[3] Adult habitats have been found in human excrement, fox and pheasant carrion, and malodorous stinkhorn fungi.

[6][8] This repeats for up to six cycles of copulation and egg-laying, following which the female typically leaves the carcass while the male remains.

[6][10] During copulation, male sperm is deposited into a storage organ called the bursa copulatrix.

Males expend more resources on females with mature eggs, engaging in more tapping sequences and copulation bouts.

[12] Female D. anilis are polyandrous and will often mate with several males while discharging a single batch of eggs.

[12] However, the multiple matings give the female access to the resources of territory-holding males, such as food and egg-laying sites,[12] and mating with territory-holding males may allow the female to be defended while she lays her eggs.

Eggs have sets of protrusions called flanges that appear in pairs from the back and side surfaces.

[2] Moreover, the chorion takes on the color of the substrate that it is laid on, affording the egg camouflage and protection from predators.

At eclosion, the chorion of the egg splits, breaking the outermost covering and allowing the larva to escape.

[2] At the first instar stage, the cephalopharyngeal skeleton is brown-black in color and 0.28–0.33 mm long.

There is a plate, found on the front surface of the fly, curved upwards at both ends.

[2] Mandibular sclerites (hardened portions of the exoskeletons) exist as long, narrow, mouth-hooks that appear triangular from a side-view.

Dentary sclerites located next to the mandible are pointed down, and are lightly pigmented towards the back of the fly.

Small sclerites are present between the mandibular ones, and an additional sclerite is found on the posterior end near the hypostome (a structure found near the mouth which allows an animal to anchor itself firmly on another to suck, as in the tick's hypostome).

[2] The integument is translucent, the body's overall shape comes to resemble a mix between a cone, and cylinder (with the front end of the insect becoming more pointed).

[2] D. anilis can survive on food sources ranging from insects and vertebrates to rotting fungi.

[2] The short incubation period of the fly (around 24 hours) may provide a competitive advantage in exploiting limited resources.

[14] Therefore, there is concern that continued decline in salmon populations could threaten D. anilis and other salmon-dependent communities.