This dipteran miner/borer was first detected in the current study in 2020, via observation of the externally visible, shallow, blackened tunnels it creates in midribs and stems of the host. The tunnels tend to meander irregularly across and around the stem, sometimes forming a spiral or sinusoidal pattern. The tunnels also wind through all depths of the stem and change color, from black to brown to occasionally white/green, so that they can be quite difficult to follow in places.

In a few cases, the author was able to successfully locate a larva inside its tunnel. In one instance the tunnel was shallow enough that the larva's cephaloskeleton could be faintly seen through the outer wall of the stem. Larvae observed in this way appeared to be mostly early to middle instars. They were pale whitish with black cephaloskeletons and a pair of very small, light brown, ringlike posterior spiracular areas. The earliest observation of a larva occurred on 29 June.

Mature larvae or puparia have not yet been located in the current study. In two examined stems, the tunnels straightened out as they moved down the stem and, in the lowest 15-25cm of stem, the tunnels seemed to make a beeline for the belowground parts of the plant. Even these straight lower stem tunnels had a relatively small diameter, suggesting they were made by middle-instar larvae that still had a ways to go before reaching maturity. It is assumed that larval development is completed in the crown or roots of the plant, but this has not yet been confirmed. Several senesced stems with old feeding sign of early or middle instar larvae were searched in winter, with particular attention given to the lowermost portions of the stems near ground level, but no puparia could be found in the stem interiors, suggesting pupation may take place in the belowground parts or off the plant.

Some aspects of the larva's cephaloskeleton, along with the posterior spiracles and the general appearance of the larval body, are consistent with Agromyzidae; one photo appears to show the rear arms of the cephaloskeleton in a configuration typical for the subfamily Phytomyzinae. However, these details were not sufficient to clinch the subfamily or even family-level identification, so the fly is only identified to order here for now.