Formerly present on the Sacramento Valley floor but now extinct at both North Sacramento and Rancho Cordova. Common in foothill woodland in the lower Coast Range and Sierra Nevada , usually seen in good numbers visiting flowers of California Buckeye. This and the California Hairstreak are the first species of Satyrium to emerge in the foothills. There is one brood, from the end of April to late June. Females may have quite a bit of orange above.

On the Sierran West slope at mid-elevation occurs a conspicuously larger and better-marked race of S. auretorum which is always scarce and does not show up every year at Lang. It flies in June and July and has been found nectaring on pink dogbane, Yerba Santa and Eriogonum nudum.

The host plants are a variety of Oaks (Quercus). At Lang the host is Black Oak (Q. kelloggii).