Colors vary from yellow to red with brown or black wings or trim. Soldier beetles resemble lightning bugs but do not have light-producing organs. Soldier beetle larvae are long, slender and worm-like. The sides of the body appear rippled or scalloped because of indentations within each body segment. The body is covered with tiny dense bristles and appears velvety.
Color is dark brown to gray.
The larvae usually spend the winter in damp soil and debris or under loose bark. They are particularly abundant as accidental invaders inside the house in the fall when they are searching for protected locations in which to spend the winter. Both adults and larvae are predacious and feed on other insects. The adults eat caterpillars, aphids, and other soft-bodied insects and can be important predators. As they lie in wait for prey on flowers such as goldenrod they may feed on nectar and pollen but they do no damage to the plants.