Wingspan 10–14 mm. Dark greyish brown forewings with the scales tipped with silvery or pale golden white resulting in a peppered effect. This is more pronounced at the edges of the fascia and less strong towards the base.
There are four paired white strigulae on the costa. The first subtends a silvery fascia to the costa that is bent at 90 degrees mid wing before becoming strongly white edges as it reaches the dorsum making a distinct medio-dorsal blotch. The second subtends a silvery fascia, skirting the ocellus to reach the tornus. There is sometimes a small white strigula between the third and fourth where there is a short silvery fascia when present. The fourth fascia skirts the apex and is white on the termen. The ocellus is well marked with black and silvery marked beyond.

Male genitalia are characterized by a toothlike projection of the ventral margin of the valva and numerous small cornuti in the aedeagus.
Female genitalia are characterized by a short ductus bursae and a pair of small signa in the corpus bursae.

Nearly fully grown larvae are white or yellowish with a light-brown head that may have darker posterolateral shading. The prothoracic shield is yellowish brown and lightly sclerotized and the anal shield is marked with dark-brown spots.

The larva lives in a silk-lined tunnel under the bark and feed in the cambium. Their presence can be betrayed by loose bark and by reddish-brown frass mixed with resin exuding from holes in the bark. Hibernates as a larva. Pupation in the larval habitation during next spring.
The adults fly around conifers in sunshine during the afternoon and on the wing again at dusk. They come sparsely to light

The larva lives on Picea abies, Picea omorika, Abies alba, Pinus sylvestris, Pinus nigra and Pinus strobus. Occasionally found on Larix.

It inhabits coniferous plantations.