In North America, the species has a southeastern distribution from South Carolina west to Texas along the Gulf Coast.

The larvae feed in groups and their striking patterns may be aposematic, as reported by Becker and Miller (2002): "One male was tossed towards a gray kingbird, Tyrannus dominicensis (Gmelin), who caught it in the air, returned to its perch, tried to swallow the moth, then spit it out and cleaned its beak against the branch.

Host plant records include: Other species mentioned in the literature (description from Dunford and Barbara 2008): Phyllanthus latifolius (Euphorbiaceae), Boerhaavia diffusa (Nyctaginaceae), Morongia leptoclada (Mimosaceae), Carya sp.

(Arecaceae), Casuarina equisetifolia (Casuarinaceae), Corchorus hirsutus (Tiliaceae), and Lippia alba (Lamiaceae), and Solanum sp.

[7] In addition to genetic similarity, D. festiva shares the main characteristic that unites nolids: a rounded silk cocoon with plant matter woven in and a vertical exit slit.