The pupa is ordinarily, but not always, enveloped in a thin cocoon formed within the larval tunnel. Duration of the pupal stage under field conditions is usually about 12 days. The moths are fairly small, with males measuring 20 to 26 mm in wingspan, and females 25 to 34 mm. Female moths are pale yellow to light brown in color, with both the forewing and hind wing crossed by dark zigzag lines and bearing pale, often yellowish, patches. The male is darker in color, usually pale brown or grayish brown, but also with dark zigzag lines and yellowish patches.
Moths are most active during the first three to five hours of darkness.
The sex pheromone has been identified as 11-tetradecenyl acetate, but eastern and western strains differ in production of Z and E isomers. The preoviposition period averages about 3.5 days. Duration of oviposition is about 14 days, with oviposition averaging 20 to 50 eggs per day. The female often deposits 400 to 600 eggs during her life span. Total adult longevity is normally 18 to 24 days.