Forewings in male are less elongate, [ than other Ephestia ] with costal fold enclosing flocculent scales; grey, sprinkled with whitish and mixed with dark fuscous, towards dorsum often also with ferruginous-reddish; lines pale, dark-edged, first straight, rather oblique, second almost straight; two darker transversely placed discal dots.

Hindwings pale fuscous, anteriorly thinly scaled, in 6 with median and subdorsal whitish-ochreous basal hair tufts.

Larva brown-whitish; dots brown; head and plate of 2 reddish brown: on biscuit, chocolate, figs [1][2][3][4] This moth flies throughout the warmer months, e.g. from the end of April to October in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Less usual foods include[5] dried-out meat and animal carcasses, specimens in insect collections, and dry wood.

[6] Infestation can range from the tobacco cultivated in the fields to the leaves used for manufacturing cigars, cigarillos, cigarettes, etc.