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A medium-size (3.8-4.4 cm wingspan) moth, with two very different forms. The nominate form has violet grey-brown forewings with a black antemedian band and basal spot with dark purple-grey between the two. There is a small black patch at the anal angle, bordered on the inner edge with white and along the lower edge with cinnamon. A series of small black dots or wedges marks the outer margin at the veins. The hindwings are grey. Form expultrix lacks stong contrasting markings. It is grey-brown with lighter pink-brown in the basal area, around the orbicular-reniform area and at the anal angle. The reniform and orbicular are each indicated by a small brown spot. The antennae are simple and the sexes are similar.

The Tufted Thyatirid is nocturnal and comes to light. The larvae are solitary defoliators on deciduous trees and shrubs. Adults have an unusually extended flight period, and it is possible that there is at least a partial second brood.

No specific Alberta data. In the Prairie Provinces they are reported to feed mainly on alder (Alnus) and birch (Betula) (Prentice, 1963 ). Elsewhere a wide variety of deciduous trees and shrubs have been recorded as larval hosts.

Newfoundland west to Vancouver Island, north almost to the Northwest Territories and south to the Gulf of Mexico. They are found in wooded or shrubby places throughout Alberta, from the valleys of the arid southern Grasslands Region north across the Aspen Parklands and Boreal Forest to the Lake Athabasca and Zama City areas, and in the foothills and mountains.