The fore wings are yellowish to orange in females and greenish-gray in males, with a slightly darker transversal band in the distal third.

The hind wings are a pale yellow with a narrow brown band at the external edge and a dark round spot in the middle.

The pupae develop inside a silken cocoon[6] over 10 to 15 days in soil at a depth of 4–10 centimetres (1+1⁄2–4 in), or in cotton bolls or maize ears.

[7] The most important crop hosts are tomato, cotton, pigeon pea, chickpea, rice, sorghum, and cowpea.

Other hosts include groundnut, okra, peas, field beans, soybeans, lucerne, Phaseolus spp., other Leguminosae, tobacco, potatoes, maize, flax, Dianthus, Rosa, Pelargonium, Chrysanthemum, Lavandula angustifolia, a number of fruit trees, forest trees, and a range of vegetable crops.

[1] In Russia and adjacent countries, the larvae populate more than 120 plant species, favouring Solanum, Datura, Hyoscyamus, Atriplex, and Amaranthus genera.

[6] Control measures include the use of NOCTOVI adulticide attract and kill formulation,[8] growing of resistant varieties, weeding, inter-row cultivation, removing crop residues, deep autumn ploughing, winter watering to destroy the pupae, the use of insecticides or biological control through the release of entomophages such as Trichogramma spp.

[5][9] Development of Bt cotton (genetically modified to produce Bacillus thuringiensis toxin) improved yields of lint.

[15] Introducing bird perches and providing habitats for natural enemies are methods that can be used to prevent pest populations building up.

In tomato and beans caterpillars bore into young fruits and in chickpea they attack foliage and consume developing seeds.

[11][12][14][15] Plantwise and partners have suggested the release of natural enemies, including the parasitoid Trichogramma brassilences or T. pretiosum as methods of control.