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One of the larger (3.5-3.8 cm wingspan) Abagrotis sp. The rather broad forewings are pale pinkish-brown or grey-buff with a narrow oblong reniform spot, darker in the upper and lower part, and with a series of fine dots marking the outer edge of the postmedian line. The hindwings are pale grey or grey-brown. Characters that will separate erratica from other Alberta Abagrotis include biserrate male antennae, the sharply outlined reniform spot darker in the upper and lower portions, and the outer postmedian line reduced to a series of fine dots. Genital characters include the spinelike apex of the uncus and a globular rather than elongate vesica lacking a basal diverticula in the male, and two similar triangular signa in the bursa of the female. Abagrotis trigona is similar in appearance but is smaller, has dark hindwings, and the male has simple, beadlike antennae. Keys to the adults and illustrations of the genitalia of both sexes are available in Lafontaine (1998).

Western montane; southern British Columbia including Vancouver Island south to central Utah and central California. Several specimens collected at Writing-on-stone Provincial Park in extreme southern Alberta appear to be the only records from west of the Continental Divide.