Males of this species wait for possible mates for mating on tall perches such as trees. The mated females then choose mistletoe plants for oviposition. The eggs are laid in either groups or by themselves on the host plant. The eggs appear white with a hard and solid outer surface. During oviposition, female butterflies will lay as many as twenty single eggs at different locations on the leaves of a mistletoe plant. Larvae After hatching, larvae will emerge from the top of the egg, leaving behind an opening at the top of the egg. Once hatched, the larvae do not consume their egg shells as a first source of nutrition as other species of butterflies do. Instead, they go straight into feeding on their host plant's leaves and male flowers until fully grown. The species gains protective toxins from their larval host plants that stay in their system into adulthood. The larvae are not colored in a way that warns predators of this, they instead match the green color and round shape of their host plant's foliage. This coloration will darken as the caterpillar ages, which also allows for successful camouflage with the leaves of their mistletoe host plant. Caterpillars are commonly spotted in the spring to early summer and have been primarily found on leaves and non-woody stems of mistletoe. Caterpillars will feed on the leaves of their host plant until time of pupation, which is around 20 days from hatching to pupation. The larvae mainly feeds on young leaves on the mistletoe plant, with early instar larvae being unable to chew through older leaves until they develop into late instar caterpillars. In addition, caterpillars have been observed to entirely defoliate their host plant before, leaving behind only the stems. Pupa Next, the larvae pupate in well-protected areas close to the base of trees under pieces of bark or fallen leaves. Pupae appear dark brown and after about a minimum of 16 days, pupae will emerge as the adult stage butterfly. Adult After about 16 days from pupation to hatching, the adult butterfly will emerge from its chrysalis. Adult butterflies have their orange and black colorings to signal the protective toxins and even have a behavior of rubbing their wings together. This draws attention to the markings on their back wings that serve as a "false head". During flight season, which stretches from spring to early summer, and from