The wings, usually held in a drooping position on live flies, are broad, transparent and glassy with black, brown and brownish yellow markings, with tints appearing faded. There is a fairly wide, brownish yellow band across the middle of each wing. The extreme base is blotched with brownish yellow, with the rest of the basal area curiously marked with black, forming dark lines of the radiating wing veins, with dark spots between them. The head of the male bears two long, black bristles with broadly flattened, somewhat diamond shaped tips, arising between the eyes near the antennae. The eyes are reddish purple.
Females usually die soon after they stop ovipositing.
Adults die in greatest numbers within 2-4 days after emergence if they cannot obtain food. Some adults may survive up to a year or more under favorable conditions of food, water, and cool temperatures. When host fruit is continuously available and weather conditions favorable, successive generations will be large and continuous. Lack of fruit for 3 to 4 months reduces the population to a minimum. When the eggs hatch, the larvae begin feeding almost immediately.