Wingspan 8 to11 mm. An attractive little moth, with purplish markings on a metallic golden ground colour and orange-tufted head. 

Often associated with woodland.

Adults are on wing from May to July and fly during the day.

Like others in the genus, the life history of the early stages is more or less unknown, but the adult moths feed on the pollen of various flowers, chiefly those of Oak, Sycamore and Hawthorn.

It has been recorded from Wales and most English counties but is scarce or unknown in Scotland and Ireland. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.

Rare in Leicestershire and Rutland where there are few records. L&R Moth Group status = D (rare or rarely recorded).