The wingspread of the adult is 14 to 24 mm. The upper sides of the wings are iridescent blue with black borders. The undersides of the wings are brown with a series of white and yellow spots on the margin of the hind wings at the bases of the tails. The underside of the abdomen is bright red. There are many flights from March to November in the northern part of the range and year round in Florida and south Texas.
Males perch on treetops during the afternoon to await the arrival of females for mating.
As with the other hairstreak butterflies, perching adults move their hind wings up and down. The tails on the hind wings with their associated spots resemble a head. The movement of the tails is believed to attract a potential predator's attention to that part of the wings which then is torn away allowing the butterfly to escape. When full-grown, larvae migrate from the mistletoe and pupate in crevices at the base of the tree, under bark, or may wander onto adjacent buildings for pupation. Frequently, pupae are parasitized by parasitoid wasp larvae or by tachinid fly larvae, and adult wasps or flies emerge from the pupal case instead of the butterfly.