Shuttle-shaped dart

Males show variegated brownish forewings with white hindwings, while females have fairly plain dark brown forewings and buffish hindwings; markings on the forewing form a shuttle-like shape that gives the species its name, and the wingspan runs from about 30 to 32 mm.

Caterpillars feed on the leaves of herbaceous plants and grasses rather than on roots as most related species do, and with up to three generations a year the moth can be found on the wing from spring through autumn.