Hindwing has 1 long and 1 short tail. Upperside of both sexes dark brown. Underside of hindwing dark brown with postmedian band of dark dashes edged in white. Blue tail-spot not topped with orange. Eggs are laid on twigs of the host during the summer, and hatch the following spring.
Caterpillars eat catkins and leaves.
Forest areas and neighboring open edges and fields. Southern Rocky Mountains in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery. Opler, P. A. and G. O. Krizek. Butterflies east of the Great Plains.