Males patrol in valleys or open areas near host plants for females.
Females lay eggs singly on host plant leaves.
Late-stage caterpillars hibernate. Extreme southern British Columbia and northwestern United States south to north coastal California and central Utah. Some populations affected by grazing and fire suppression. OR Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery. Subspecies chrysomelas is T2,T3 and is threatened by fire suppression, improper logging, and invasive alien weeds.