The larva is brown or yellow, with a pale orange head, and is covered in long hairs, including four white tussocks, one on the back of each of the first four abdominal segments. Early instars have brown or yellow lateral hairs, but later instars have white hairs. The caterpillars have been found eating the foliage of plants from 7 different plant familes.
The adult female moth is white, with a pattern of broken thin brown lines on the forewings. She has white hindwings. Her wingspan is about 6 cms.
The male is similar, but with brown areas in the outer halves of the forewings, and has orange hind wings with dark margins. The male has a wingspan of about 4 cms.
Calliteara pura is listed in the following regions: