Identification can be made by a brief examination of the leaves of eucalyptus trees, either leaves that are still on the tree or that have fallen to the ground. Resembling an armored scale insect attached to the eucalyptus leaf, the lerp structure houses a larger larva beneath. A conical lerp may be three millimeters wide and two millimeters high. The larvae or nymph, colored yellow or yellow and brown, feeds and grows to adulthood under this cap of crystalline sugars. Adults are three millimeters in length, slender, and pale green with areas of orange and yellow.
Winged adults fly to nearby leaves or trees where they mate, feed, and commence egg laying.
Heavy infestations can cause severe leaf drop as well as black sooty mold growing on the honeydew-covered leaves. Like other psyillids, female RLPs lay eggs especially on the succulent leaves of new shoots. RLP metamorphosis, from egg to larva to adult, can occur regularly, yielding up to four generations per year. Development slows to several months during winter but can take only a few weeks in warm temperatures. In the mild coastal climate of Westwood, one can expect all stages to be present throughout the year.