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Species is between 5.5 and 9.0 mm and is black in coloration with the elytra, palpi, base of antennae, and apex of abdomen usually brownish red in color (Smetana, 1971). The pronotum and abdomen are nearly iridescent with the sides of the pronotum parallel and the sides of the elytra being longer than the midline of the pronotum (Smetana, 1971). The eyes are separated by more than twice their length (Hatch, 1957), are prominent and convex, and the temples are at most the length of the eyes (Smetana, 1971). The abdominal tergites are comparatively densely punctuated, however the first distinctly visible tergite is almost impunctate at the midline (Smetana, 1971).

Species coloration and size characteristics are extremely variable. North American specimens commonly exhibit an entirely black morph with some regions containing only the black morph of the species (Smetana, 1971). Larvae are a parasitic host of Exallonyx obsoletus (Hymenoptera: Serphidae) (Hoebeke and Kovarik, 1988).