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A medium-sized (3.2-3.6 cm wingspan) light grey or grey-brown (rearely pink) moth with white hindwings. Markings on the forewing obsolete or nearly so, except for the orbicular spot, which is frequently outlined in part at least with dark scales, and the renifom, which is filled with dark scales in the lower half. The postmedian line is usually indicated by a series of small dark dots, and the terminal area, including the fringe, is darker than the remainder of the wing. The hindwings are shining white, with some light brown shading forming a narrow terminal band. There is some brown scaling along the veins, including the discal bar. Closely related to E. quebecensis, which has dark hindwings and longer saccular extensions (.7-.9x length of harps, vs .3-.6x in scandens). Superficially similar to both Agrotis vetusta and Platyperigea montana, which have very different types of genitalia. Euxoa scandens belongs to the subgenus Pleonectopoda, characterized by the prominent twist or subbasal coil in the vesica of the male. There are no characters that can be used to identify females as members of the subgenus. Keys to the subgenus and species are presented in Lafontaine, 1987.

Newfoundland south to Massachusettes west to Alberta, north to the Northwest Territories and south to central Montans and central Utah. In Alberta, they have been recorded from the foothills (Nordegg) and from the southern edge of the boreal forest (Opal and Redwater) south.