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One can do no better than quoting Lynn Scott's description of this otherwise rather drab creature: “Both the forewings and the hindwings of Horisme intestinata are largely covered with fine, gray-brown, parallel, crosswise lines, which are aligned at rest so that the moth somewhat resembles a smear of something on my brick wall. The ground color of the wings is a pale yellowish brown or tan, slightly darker towards the outer margins. The upper third of the forewing is less striped, with a plain area around the small discal dot. The deep scallops of the postmedial line are quite evident when one takes a close look, but on a quick glance, the wing simply appears streaky. In the subterminal area, there is a whitish scalloped line on both forewing and hindwing. The darkest markings are the ends of a dark lines at the inner margins of the forewings, which are aligned with a dark line across the base of the abdomen to form a darker mark across the middle of the moth at rest” (Lynn Scott, 2001-2007). Wingspan approx. 2.5-3.2 cm. The related H. incana Swett is a more two-toned light and dark brown and has a sharply defined contrasting yellow-brown stripe along the costa.

Very poorly known. Adults are nocturnal and come to light. The main flight if from late May through late July, peaking in late June. A small second brood appears in early September through early October. The larva is undescribed and the larval hosts are unknown. Larvae of European species feed on Clematis.