Summer females are lighter in color than winter females. The undersides of the wings mimic dead leaves and are similar in both sexes. Larvae exposed to short photoperiods during late summer and early fall produce winter form adults that are in reproductive diapause. The head also has a small number of larger orange tubercles. The color and tuberculation of the larvae match the surface texture and appearance of twigs of some common host plants.
Pupae are light green with darker green lines simulating a leaf-like texture.
The goatweed butterfly has two flights per year in the North with possibly three or four flights in parts of the South. Their flight is swift and erratic. Overwintering adults mate in the spring. Males wait for females in clearings or on ridge tops. Adults feed on sap flows, decaying fruits, and dung.