Italian striped bug

Graphosoma lineatum can reach a length of 8–12 millimetres. The body is almost round, with a large shield. The basic color of the upperside of the body is bright red, with wide black longitudinal stripes. The pronotum has six black bands. The antennae are black. Also the sides of the abdominal segments are red with many small black spots. The legs may be black or red, depending on the subspecies. The bold red and black warning colours indicate that the insects are foul-tasting, protecting them from predators. The nymphs have no the red-black stripe pattern, they are mostly brownish or grayish.