Upperside of male hindwing has a black scale patch.
Adults roost communally.
All year in Florida and South Texas, July-August in the north. Some of the milkweeds contain cardiac glycosides which are stored in the bodies of both the caterpillar and adult. These poisons are distasteful and emetic to birds and other vertebrate predators. After tasting a Queen, a predator might associate the bright warning colors of the adult or caterpillar with an unpleasant meal, and avoid Queens in the future. Nectar from flowers including milkweeds, fogfruit, and shepherd's needle.