Wing span: 1 - 1 1/4 inches (2.5 - 3.2 cm).

Identification: Wing margins are scalloped; fringe is checkered black and tan. Upperside is dark brown with 2 darker bands across each wing; forewing has a few tiny translucent dots.

Life history: Adults rest on leaves with the wings held open, and hide in bushes when disturbed. To find females, males perch on low vegetation in partial sun along forest edges. Females lay eggs singly under host plant leaves. Caterpillars rest in rolled leaves during the day and eat leaves at night. Third-stage caterpillars hibernate in tightly-silked dead leaf shelters.

Flight: Two broods; from May-August in most of its range, April-September in Mississippi, February-December in Florida.

Caterpillar hosts: Lambsquarters (Chenopodium) in the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae), and occasionally chaff flower (Alternanthera) in the pigweed family (Amaranthaceae).

Adult food: Nectar from marigold, knotweed, spearmint, wild marjoram, cucumber, dogbane, white sweet clover, and white clover.

Habitat: Roads, trails, and openings in woods; vacant weedy lots; suburban gardens.

Range: Eastern Nebraska east across the southern Midwest to southern Pennsylvania; south to Florida, the Gulf states, and central Texas.