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.