Female ghost moths are larger than males, and exhibit sexual dimorphism with their differences in size and wing color.

[1] The larva is whitish and maggot-like and feeds underground on the roots of a variety of wild and cultivated plants (see list below).

The ghost moth gets its name from the hovering display flight of the male, sometimes slowly rising and falling, over open ground to attract females.

[3] During the lekking period, incident light intensities between 10.0 and 2.0 lux have been found to increase the brightness contrast between the background (grass/plants) and male moths' silver/white wings.

[4] The male ghost swifts display by hovering directly above vegetation, while occasionally shifting slowly horizontally.

[6] Males perform a flight display and use both chemical and visual signals to attract females to their mating sites.

[8] The olfactory substances used to attract females are produced on the male's hind tibial brushes, and were said to be "goat-like", meaning the smell of the Goat Moth caterpillar.

[3] The upperside of males have un-pigmented scales with elaborate morphology and meshwork that allow for light reflection and may aid in attracting females.

It is believed that the deaf moths, such as the family Hepialidae, pre-date the predatory bats that may have driven the evolution of ultrasonic hearing.

[2] The ghost moth larvae grow up to 50 mm long and have a white opaque body with a red/brown head.

[1] In the British Isles, the ghost moth larvae live in the soil and can commonly be found underneath the grass.

[2] The ghost moth typically pupates during the April or May after the two to three year larval growth period has ended.

The specific name humuli refers to the genus of hops (Humulus), on which Linnaeus wrongly thought, the larvae fed on its roots.

[12] It is believed that the ghost moth is also referenced in the last passage of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.