Golden tortoise beetle Charidotella sexpunctata bicolour have a generally rounded body form (about 5-6 mm length). Their body is domed, with somewhat flatter areas along the edges. When disturbed they can press themselves close to the leaf surface with all appendages safely protected underneath, somewhat in the manner a tortoise can withdraw into its shell. The golden tortoise beetle may be nearly uniformly gold, whereas some darker markings are always present on the mottled tortoise beetle. The adult beetles are distinctive in that the margins of the prothorax and elytra are expanded, largely concealing the head and appendages. The expanded margins are not pigmented, appearing nearly transparent.