Females are darker than males. Underside of hindwing is orange with a tan patch surrounding the pale marginal crescent. All day long, males patrol near the host plants for receptive females. Eggs are laid in bunches of about 40 on the underside of host plant leaves.
Caterpillars eat leaves, and young ones live and feed communally.
Third-stage caterpillars hibernate. One brood from June-July, perhaps two broods in southern Canada. Nectar from flowers of dogbane, fleabane, and white clover. Opler, P. A. and G. O. Krizek. Butterflies east of the Great Plains.