Many leaf spot diseases have this symptom. As the common name suggests, adults of this true bug have four black longitudinal stripes surrounded by yellow to yellow-green on the leathery part of the wing covers. Beyond this, the membranous part of the wings is black. The head and body are a golden yellow with yellow-green legs that have black markings. Antennae are black.
Adults are one-quarter inch in length.
Nymphs are smaller, wingless, brightly-colored yellow to red, with black spots in rows on the segments of the abdomen. Mouthparts are piercing-sucking. This insect overwinters as eggs laid in linear slits near branch tips of woody plants. Eggs hatch in late spring after most foliage has emerged. The nymphs feed on the upper sides of leaves, withdrawing chlorophyll with their piercing-sucking mouthparts.