Forewing greyish purple irrorated with fuscous; the basal area and the shade preceding submarginal line, especially in the lower half, and the upper stigmata bright pale green; median area below subcostal vein deep dark green; a large white, generally pinkish-tinged blotch with bifid extremity runs along vein 2 to outer line; submarginal line greenish white, angled sharply inwards on submedian fold and bluntly beyond the cell, accompanied by dark and light green clouds; hindwing fuscous grey, the outer half dark fuscous, with traces of dark cellspot and outer line; — ab.

and also Central Germany, has the green tints altered into olive, and the pale blotch yellow; ab.

has all the markings faint and washed out; (this is usually the case with bred examples); the Japanese form — ab.

— Larva purplish brown, sometimes with a green tinge; dorsal and subdorsal lines blackish, with faint oblique lateral stripes; spiracular lines pinkish white, darker above.

The larvae feed on herbaceous plants, such as Atriplex, Polygonum aviculare, Chenopodium and Rumex.