In Europe the species is found in the Alps, mountainous areas in northern Scandinavia and very local in the eastern parts of the Pyrenees.

In North America it is found in Alaska, northwestern Canada, and in small populations in the Canadian part of the Rocky Mountains, Alberta, and Wyoming.

In Asia it is found in Siberia, the Altai Mountains, and the Amur Oblast.

The upperside is orange with brown basal suffusion and sometimes even purplish gray in the female, decorated with brown designs, with small scallops and a line of submarginal round dots.

In Europa the larvae feed on Viola species, especially V. biflora and also Polygonum viviparum.