Upperside is black with squarish orange spots. To find receptive females, males perch on low vegetation and sometimes patrol in openings.
Females lay eggs singly on leaves of the host plant.
One brood from May-July. Nectar from flowers including iris in California. Glades and openings in heavily forested woods, moist meadows, and streamsides. G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery. Opler, P. A. and G. O. Krizek.