A small butterfly with a Holarctic distribution (North America, Europe and northern Asia). In Israel it can be found only in Mount Hermon, the southern limit of its distribution. It flies in the months of July to September. Its wingspan is about 30 mm. It produces one generation a year.
The female lays her eggs on species of grasses and legumes. The egg is white, flat at the base and cone-shaped. Its top is truncated and has a depression.
The caterpillar that hatches from the egg is yellowish and its head is black. After hatching it enters diapause until the following spring (in rearing observation; in Europe, it is the egg that enters diapause, and perhaps this is also the case under natural conditions in Mount Hermon). For protection, it lives inside a folded leaf that it creates. As it grows, its color turns brown, with two lighter stripes running across its head. When it reaches a size of about 25 mm it pupates in a sparse silken cocoon.
The pupa is cream-brown in color. It is slightly hairy and about 20 mm long. Its pupal stage lasts about two to three weeks.

Former name: the comma skipper