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The upperside is dull ochre-brown, with a variable number of small black eyespots, usually two on the forewing and one on the hindwing. The underside is finely striated black and white, with a distinct hindwing median band. The hindwing veins are outlined in white, unlike O. uhleri. The nominate subspecies (described from the mouth of Fish Creek near Calgary) occurs throughout southern Alberta. The Peace River populations are a darker, unnamed subspecies (Bird et al. 1995). D. Macaulay image

In the Peace River grasslands, the barrel-shaped eggs are laid on the tips of grass blades, and hatch in about 30 days. Larvae are reddish-brown with short, conical 'tails', and overwinter in the 5th instar, pupating early in the spring without further feeding. Pupation occurs in grass clumps near the ground. Males patrol territories to locate females, and will also fly to geographical prominences such as hilltops (Bird et al. 1995). Although sites that support Alberta Arctics almost inevitably also support Uhler's Arctics, O. alberta tends to be more localized and less widespread in distribution.