There are four defining characteristics of C. frigida. The first is the size of the body, which ranges from 5 mm to 6 mm. The size of the body depends on the specific alpha or beta alleles associated with chromosomal inversion. The alpha genes causes individuals to grow to a larger size with a "peacock's tail". However, these larger individual typically spend 2-4 more days throughout the development process before becoming adults. The bodies range from a dark brown to black. The second is color of the legs. The legs of C. frigida are mostly all the same size, with the only difference being in color. The hue of the legs range from a light brown, to yellow, to black. The third and fourth features are their tergite and accompanying bristles. Most individuals of C. frigida have 6 tergites. Their size may differ according to how far along each individual is in their adult life. The color of their tergites is generally dark brown. Lastly, the accompanying bristles on the tergites vary in different lengths. Most are proportional to the overall body or tergite size. The color of such setae are either black or the color of the attached tergite.
