Stigma on male forewing has black or gray felt. Males perch near the host plants all day to wait for receptive females. Eggs are laid singly at the base of a grass stem.
Caterpillars live in a nest of leaves tied with silk, and fourth-stage caterpillars hibernate.
One brood from June-August. Nectar from flowers of green and common milkweeds, yellow prickly pear, vetch, alfalfa, bush houstonia, purple coneflower, leadplant, compassplant, sunflower, and blazing star. Native tall-grass prairie. Conversion of tall-grass prairie to agricultural use has greatly reduced the habitat and numbers of the Ottoe Skipper. Care should be taken in habitat management.