English names include common gooseberry sawfly[1] and imported currantworm.

This insect can produce three generations per year, with larvae emerging between April and September.

It differs in this respect from Nematus leucotrochus, the pale-spotted gooseberry sawfly, which has a single generation.

The female sawfly lays eggs on the undersides of the leaves and the larvae work their way upwards, stripping the plant of foliage.

The adult is yellowish with black markings, the females slightly larger than the males.