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A large (6.5-9.0 cm wingspan), long-winged, heavy-bodied dark grey moth. The forewings are dark grey and black with a number of fine black horizontal streaks, and the veins are faintly marked with black scales. There is usually a small white spot in the forewing cell, and the fringe is white with some black checkering. The hindwings are black with a lighter grey basal patch and median band and a white fringe. The thorax is black with grey along the sides, and the abdomen has a series of large, lateral grey and black spots. S. poecila is similar in pattern to S. vashti and S. chersis, but much darker grey overall. S. drupiferarum is two-tone black and grey. The very closely related S. gordius has been found as far west as central Saskatchewan and may well turn up in Alberta. In poecila, the submarginal area maintains the same general ground color as the rest of the dorsal forewing, while the submarginal area in gordius is distinctly darker than the ground color of the remainder of the wing.

Poecila sphinx are largely nocturnal and come to light, but have also been observed nectaring at blossoms during the day. There is a single brood each year. The larvae are solitary defoliators, and the pupae overwinter in the soil. It is considered by some to be the most common sphinx moth in Canada.

Mainly Boreal, from the Maritimes west to the Alberta foothills. The southern limits of occurrence are uncertain owing to the confusion in the literature with S. gordius. In Alberta, poecila has been collected throughout the Boreal forest region, north to the Peace River and Lake Athabasca areas, south to Nordegg and Edmonton.