[2] The species are black or dark red coloured with pale green legs.

Adults have some short hairs and strange shaped antennae, with a large flattened second antennal segment (hence the Latin species name planicornis, meaning flat horn).

[3] They prefer unripe fruits, buds, juices and nectar of various plants, mainly of Crataegus species, common alder (Alnus glutinosa), common hazel (Corylus avellana), oak (Quercus robur), nettles (especially Urtica dioica) and tansy Tanacetum vulgare.

[2][6][7] The species can be found in the Nearctic realm, and in Central, Western, and Eastern Europe as far as the Caspian Sea, except for the Baltic states, Faroe Islands, Finland, Malta, and former Yugoslavia.

[8] These quite common bugs occur in neglected orchards, hedge rows, and in many gardens.