About Xylena solidaginis Hübner, 1803
Technical description and variation: The forewing is pale bluish grey, marked with dark grey or blackish shading and suffusion; the veins are finely black; a slender black line runs through and below the base of the cell; the inner and outer lines are double and dentate; the submarginal line is whitish, waved, and dentate, preceded by a blackish shade that contains black dentate marks; the orbicular stigma is double, formed of two round grey spots placed obliquely, with the inner spot often absent; the reniform stigma is large, marked with white and black. The hindwing is dirty grey, darker along the termen, and has a dark grey cell spot. The aberration cinerascens Stgr. is more uniformly grey, with markings that are not bright or conspicuous; the aberration pallida Tutt is a very pale form found at Cannock Chase, Britain; the aberration obscura Lutzau is entirely suffused with dark color. The larva is purplish brown; the dorsal line is blue grey, with darker edges; the spiracular line is broad, pale yellow, with a fine black upper edge. The wingspan of Xylena solidaginis ranges from 45 to 51 mm.
