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A colourful day-flying moth, occasionally mistaken for a butterfly when flying. The forewing is chocolate brown with a whitish submarginal shade, and black PM, AM and median lines. The hindwing is bright reddish orange with two bold black transverse lines and fine black striations. Superficially similar to Archiaris infans, but the hindwing has two crisp black lines not joined to a broad dark patch on the inner margin as it is in infans.

The immature stages are undescribed. Adults are diurnal, and are not known to come to light. Although not closely related, the seasonality, display of bright orange during flight and cryptic colouration while at rest are strikingly similar to both Archiearis infans and Aglais (Nymphalis) milberti. It has been suggested that the European representatives of these species, Archiearis parthenias and Aglais urticae, represent a case of convergent colouration resulting from bird predation pressure (Rydell et al. 2001).