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A small (2-3 cm. wingspan), broad-winged and rather delicate moth. The forewings are light blue-grey and brown, marked with fine black jagged cross lines. The lines thicken where they meet the costa, forming a series of three prominent black spots. The reniform spot is usually filled with yellowish or orange scales. Three parallel lines partially cross the hindwings. Specimens from cooler and more mesic environments in the mountains and northern areas may be dusky and have the makings "blurred". Specimens from the more xeric areas of the southern boreal forest south tend to be larger, paler, and more crisply marked. Both sexes are similar. They may be mistaken for a small geometrid moth.

Throughout much of North America, from Florida to Vancouver Island. In Alberta it is found from the wooded valleys of the plains (Milk River valley) to the northern border (Zama and the north shore of Lake Athabasca), and especially common in the Aspen parklands and southern Boreal forest regions.