The wingspan is 12–17 mm. The forewings are whitish, sometimes partly suffused with grey, more or less strigulated with dark fuscous. The basal patch is dark grey, sometimes blackish-mixed, edge somewhat angulated and the central fascia form a dark grey sometimes indistinct costal suffusion, and there is a black-edged triangular praetornal spot. The ocellus is edged with leaden- metallic, enclosing several sometimes confluent black dashes. The cilia are dark grey. The hindwings are rather dark grey. The larva is pinkish-brown; head and plate of 2 dark fuscous: on blackthorn, larch, alder, etc.; May. The larch -feeding form distinguished as lariciana is usually somewhat smaller and darker.[3]
The moth flies from May to October depending on the location. There is one generation per year.
^Meyrick, E., 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera MacMillan, London pdf This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Keys and description