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A medium-size moth (3.6-3.9 cm wingspan). Head and body light brown, with a fine dark grey band on the prothoracic shield and along the edges of the tegulae. Forewing costa cream-colored and contrasting strongly with the brown forewing. There is a short, thick black basal dash, and the antemedian and postmedian lines are narrow and black, the later slightly scalloped at the veins. The large, rectangular reniform, and the orbicular and claviform are outlined in black, with the first two filled with cream-colored scales like the costa. The area beyond the postmedian line is slightly paler than the rest of the wing, but darkens toward the outer margin. The lower half of the basal half of the wing is darker grey or grey brown. The fringe is pale brown. The hindwings are light smoky brown, darker toward the margin with bream or white fringes. Obeliscoides has a clean smooth appearance. It is unlikely to be mistaken for any Euxoa except the very closely related and very similar E. oberfoelli, a species of the arid grasslands that occurs in southern Saskatchewan but has not yet been found in Alberta. E. obeliscoides belongs to the obeliscoides group of the subgenus Euxoa. Keys to the species, species groups and subgenera are provided in Lafontaine, 1987.

Southern Quebec and northern Pennsylvania, west across southern Canada to British Columbia, south to Arizona, New Mexico and California. In occurs in the southern half of Alberta from the lower foothills north into the southern edge of the boreal forest.