It is also present across the Great Lakes area to New England, the Maritimes and in the southern Appalachians.

The underside of the wings is grey-brown, but the outer half is lighter, with greenish lichen-simulating submarginal spots in the males.

It is also strongly associated with the comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album) within the genus based on larval development analysis and synaptomorphies.

[11] However the North American populations of Polygonia species can be distinguished from those of Polygonia c-album in the fact that they occur only in cooler regions, with only one brood and without seasonal dimorphism, while the latter species occurs in some milder regions, with more generations and distinct seasonal forms.

The solitary larvae feed on a wide range of hosts, especially on upland willow (Salix humilis), Betula lenta, alder, Rhododendron occidentale, and Ribes species.