Upperside has narrow dark borders blending into the reddish orange ground color, dark veins, and small indistinct pale spots. Underside of hindwing is yellow with no markings or with very faint pale spots.
Males perch among host plants in low spots all day to await females.
Females deposit eggs on or near the host plants. Caterpillars feed on leaves and take shelter in nests of rolled leaves. Freshwater marshes, stream courses, oases, ponds, seeps, sloughs, springs, and canals. Common in its limited habitat in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, northern New Mexico, and Arizona. G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.