Females are larger than males. Male abdomen is black with a red tip, female abdomen is black. Upperside of wings is gray with narrow black borders, black at the wing bases, and wide translucent white bands. Females lay eggs circling a main stem that will expose the eggs to sun. Eggs overwinter and hatch in the spring.
Young caterpillars feed in clusters and older ones feed alone.
Fully-grown caterpillars wander and make loose cocoons in leaf litter or a few inches underground in soft soil. One brood from September-October. Wet meadows and open fields. Southern Maine, New Hampshire, southeastern Vermont, and Massachusetts. GU - Unable to assign rank due to lack of available information.