All isopod females brood their young in a pouch under the thorax.

Very little is known about the life history and life cycle of this species.

Rye Cove Cave isopods are blind and live in continuous darkness. They cannot swim, but instead crawl under and on the surface of rocks and other substrates beneath the water. Evidence suggests they can withstand high flow-rates by clinging to these surfaces.

At only a half-inch long and entirely unpigmented, Rye Cove Cave isopods are hard to spot. Similar in shape to other isopods, this cave-dwelling species resembles common wood louse and pill bugs.

These isopods are exclusively found within the underground cave streams of the Rye Cove area of southwestern Virginia, a significant karst area defined by landscape underlain by limestone that has been eroded, producing ridges, towers, fissures and sinkholes. They are typically found in riffles, where they can filter the water for food and oxygen.

Given how illusive this species is, not much is known about its feeding habits. However, Rye Cove Cave isopods are thought to collect organic matter that filters into the cave streams or scrape bacterial film from substrate.