This insect has a protuberance at its head as long as 10–15 millimetres (0.39–0.59 in), looking like a peanut and showing false eyes to resemble that of a lizard or a serpent.

When attacked, it protects itself by displaying large, yellow, fake eyes on its hind wings to frighten the aggressor, and releases a foul-smelling substance.

They feed on the sap of plants, mainly from some trees as Hymenaea courbaril, Simarouba amara and Zanthoxylum species.

It will lay its eggs on the Hymenaea courbaril or quapinol tree, and coat them in a waxy substance for protection.

In the 1970s, a Colombian reporter on a trip to Putumayo Department wrote a chronicle about this insect, and related the folk tale that if it bites you, it would cause death unless the affected person practiced a sexual act within 24 hours.