Upperside is dark brown with a reddish patch at the end of the forewing cell. Hindwing has brown fringes except for some individuals on the Florida Keys that have white fringes.
Caterpillars feed on leaves and rest in shelters of rolled or tied leaves.
Caterpillars from the last brood hibernate. Three broods in the Deep South from March to early October, emerging as early as late January in Florida. Flower nectar including that from shepherd's needle. Wood edges, open fields, scrub. Southeastern United States from North Carolina south to the Florida Keys, west to eastern Texas and central Oklahoma.