Wing expanse 9-15 mm. Forewing uniformly brownish gray, with a somewhat bronzy luster. Populations in the southern part of the range are somewhat lighter. Hindwings of the same color, but lightly scaled.

Lectotype in USNM.

Prodoxus cinereus, with which it coexists in part of its range, is often somewhat lighter, but they can only be reliably told apart through inspection of the genitalia. In the male, the valva of aenescens is narrow and it has a rounder outer edge. In the female, the ovipositor has a prominent arched, dorsal ridge that terminates at the ovipositor shaft. In the larva, cinereus have two ventral hooks on the abdominal tip. When the two species are found together, aenescens tend to emerge somewhat later than cinereus.

The host occurs in central-southern cismontane California, in Sierra Nevada north to Fresno Co, in northwestern Arizona (USA), and in Baja California Norte (Mexico) to the Vizcaino region (Powell and Mackie 1966). Published records only exist for the portions within the USA.

Wing expanse 9-15 mm. Forewing uniformly brownish gray, with a somewhat bronzy luster. Populations in the southern part of the range are somewhat lighter. Hindwings of the same color, but lightly scaled.

In coastal chaparral and montane dry shrubby grassland with Yucca whipplei (Agavaceae).

In coastal chaparral and montane dry shrubby grassland with Yucca whipplei (Agavaceae).

The species occurs throughout the range of its exclusive host, Yucca whipplei (Agavaceae). It feeds primarily in the apical portion of the inflorescence stalk, and well above cinereus where they coexist.

Characteristic habitat with Y. whipplei; Tulare Co., California.