The adult is an active night-flying moth that is seldom observed. Moths reared in cages spend most of their time during the day resting on the walls of the cages with their hind wings partly exposed and the tips of the front wings touching the walls. The tip of the abdomen bears a tuft of long hairlike scales. It is held aloft and waved slowly in a circular movement. This gives the impression that it is the creature's head bearing a shaggy mane.
Moths have a wingspread of about one inch.
The body is the same color with a purplish sheen. Eggs Eggs are deposited singly or in small clusters on hariy spots on the plant such as blossoms and young leaves at the growing tips of vines. Eggs are hard to locate since they are thin walled and have no definite shape. At first they are white, but later they turn a dull yellow and look like pieces of beeswax. It is almost colorless except for slightly darker jaws and a black spot on each side of the head.