The Pearl Crescent caterpillar is approximately .75 inch in length when mature. It is small, and grayish-brown with many white speckles. There are yellowish lines with rust-colored warts with bristles along the top and sides. The head is shiny black with a white line over each lobe. The butterfly has a wingspan of 1 – 1.5 inches. The orange and black color patterns are variable, but generally the male has more clear orange areas above and the female usually has some yellowish patches on the forewing. Both sexes have a row of small, all black spots along the submarginal band of the hindwing. Below, both sexes are mostly yellowish with a pale crescent at the center of the margin on the hindwing.