The sachem's wingspan is . The sexes are dissimilar but both have elongated wings. The uppersides of the male forewing are orange bordered with brown and have a large four sided black stigma. The color of the uppersides of the female wings are dark brown with golden spots in the center but are highly variable, light to very dark. The uppersides of the female forewing have a black median spot and several semi-transparent spots. Females can always be identified by the square white transparent spot at the end of the forewing cell.