Plain Golden Υ

The wingspan is 36–44 millimetres (1.4–1.7 in).Forewing pale dull rosy, with olive fuscous shading; a brown spot at middle of base: inner and outer lines nearly straight, edged with brown; median area from inner margin to above middle ferruginous brown; a small V-shaped spot on vein 2 and a small round spot close beyond it pale golden; reniform stigma in part brownish edged; subterminal line suffusedly margined with olive brown, except above anal angle; hindwing fuscous brown, the terminal border darker; in the rarer form percontationis Tr. the two golden marks are coalescent; on the other hand the outer spot, and sometimes both, may be wanting as in the ab. inscripta Esp.; in the form inscripta, from the Baltic provinces of Russia, the ground colour is much darker, especially in the lower part of the median area; a similar dark form, but with the golden markings confluent as in percontationis Tr., — subsp. [now species Autographa monogramma (Alphéraky, 1887)] monogramma Alph. is met with in Turkestan and the Ussuri district.

The caterpillars are light green in colour and have a dark, white bordered dorsal line as well as slightly wavy, white secondary dorsal lines and also white lateral stripes and point warts. The spiracles are yellowish, the head green. The pupa is black, yellowish at the bottom.