They can be mistaken for Xyleborus dispar, the small fruit tree borer, but that species is smaller and less common in vineyards.

[2] According to the original description by William John Macleay (under the name Rhizopertha gibbicollis), the body length is 1.5 lines (equivalent to about 3.2 mm).

The body is short and oblong in shape, black in colour, subnitid (not strongly shiny) and covered in punctures.

The thorax (presumably referring to the prothorax) is broader than long, very convex and rough-surfaced, with teeth in front and smooth behind.

Adults are drawn to volatiles emitted by stressed or recently dead plants, where they lay their eggs and where larvae and pupae develop.