[1][5][6] The beetle is 9 to 12 mm (0.35 to 0.47 in) long and is yellow to bright red with black spots.

[7][8] The Argus tortoise beetle lays eggs on leaves, in clusters of 15 to 30.

The larvae feed on leaves until they are fully grown, then they drop to the soil to pupate, overwintering as pupae before emerging as adults in the middle of summer.

It feeds on the foliage of plants, including milkweed, raspberry, maize, and sweet potato.

[10] Predators of the beetle include the hymenopteran egg parasite Emersonella niveipes, the tachinid larval parasite Masicera exilis, and the predatory stink bug Apateticus bracteatus.