It is distributed through most of Europe, east to the Caucasus, northern China, Korea and Japan.

Forewing pale grey, tinged with ochreous; base of inner margin yellow: reniform stigma externally yellowish; a broken black streak along submedian fold.

Larva velvety green, with broad redbrown dorsal band; hairs scattered and fine; dorsum humped on segment 12; like the larva of Cerura, which it resembles superficially in colour and ornamentation, it changes from green to dull purplish before spinning up; fullfed in autumn; on hawthorn, which is its only foodplant in Britain, though continental writers give sloe and Rhamnus.

-- Japanese specimens are considerably larger than European and much darker; the stigmata more strongly indicated, and the black dashes thicker; they may be distinguished as adaucta subsp.

A. strigosa is found in floodplain forests as well as stream and river valleys with high humidity, and in moderately warm climates.