Boarmiini

The male antennae are various, from fasciculate to strongly bipectinate or quadripectinate. There is usually a transverse comb of setae on the third abdominal sternite.

The majority of genera have rather cryptic, ligneous or lichenous wing markings. Strong angling of the forewing postmedial distal to the cell is a frequent feature (also in Macariini). But a number of genera, featured early in the systematic arrangement following, are more colourful, more strikingly patterned, and tend on the whole to have the forewing postmedial less conspicuously angled. The former group coincides broadly with the Hypomecis Hübner complex of genera discussed by Sato (1984a), and placed in the second half of the arrangement.

The male and female genitalia provide only limited indications of groupings within the tribe, and no unambiguous tribal features. In the male, the valve is entire and usually has a marked cucullus at the apex of the costa, strongly invested with setae, but this may be homologous with the dorsal portion of the divided valve in the Eutoeini and Macariini. The sacculus is often ornamented with spines or sclerotised processes bearing spine-like setae, infrequent in the related tribes, and from this ornamentation a sclerotised band, sometimes with further ornamentation, extends across the lamina of the valve to the costa. Extreme development of this feature is seen in Bracca Hübner. Uncus and gnathus are strong, the former often bifid. Coremata at the valve bases or in the abdomen are not frequent. The aedeagus vesica has various ornamentation, sometimes with very massive cornuti.

In the female, the signum is often of the typically ennomine dentate mushroom form, but is modified in some genera or groups of genera: a transverse flange in the Myrioblephara Warren group of genera; two longitudinal bars of sclerotisation in Psilalcis Warren and allies; reduced, bicornute in Hypomecis, Microcalicha Sato and a few other genera. The ovipositor and apodemes are elongate, extensile in a number of possibly independent instances: in HyposidraGuenée and allies; in Biston Leach and related genera; in Cleora Curtis, Ectropis Hübner and a few other genera in the Hypomecis group of Sato, though a relationship to Biston is possible. All these genera include a number of highly polyphagous species, though it is not clear how the two features are correlated. The ovipositor is adapted for placing eggs in deep crevices, e.g. in bark, in species where information is available.

The polyphagy just mentioned is often very wide, including both angiosperms and conifers. Some other genera in the tribe show a high degree of specialisation.