One tail on the hindwing. Eggs are laid in bark crevices of young hosts.
Young caterpillars eat buds during the day.
Older caterpillars eat leaves at night and hide during the day in ant nests at the base of the host tree. In return for protection, the ants feed on honeydew produced by the caterpillars. Oak thickets in rocky open habitats including sand barrens, shale barrens, and limestone ridges. Eastern United States from southern Canada and southern Maine south to northeast Texas, central Missouri, and northern Georgia. G4 - Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.