This brightly colored skipper has a wingspan of 1- 1 3/8 inches. It can be recognized by its clear, unmarked orange-gold coloration as it sits on flowers. The head, thorax and abdomen are all orange-gold. Dorsally, there are narrow black veins and a black border on the hind edge of the forewing. The female has a black cell end bar on the forewing. The hindwing is orange with a narrow black border. Ventrally, the wings are a clear, unmarked orange-gold color. The caterpillar is whitish-green with a black crescent on the hind segments. It has a black and white striped head.
These butterflies are seen commonly from mid-August to fall nectaring on flowers. They seem to be especially partial to thistle flowers.
Host plants are grasses including bluestem and switch grass.
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