Photo by Drees. Photo by Drees. Photo by D. Paxton.
Adult butterflies are orange with black wing veins and bodies.
The body is ringed with black, yellow and white stripes. The chrysalis is smooth and light green or blue with gold markings. It can be distinguished by the dark band arching across the center of the hind wing. This species mimics the monarchs appearance to avoid heavy predation by birds who mistake this tasty mimic for the distasteful monarch. Caterpillars feed on willow leaves and mimic bird droppings in appearance.