Neptis hylas has an estimated lifespan of approximately 21 Days.
   They prefer bright, sunny habitats such as parks, roadside vegetation, wasteland and scrublands.
   They have a very distinctive sailing flight and are active during most of the day except early morning and late afternoon.
   They avoid the heat by resting in closed wing position during the hot hours of the day.
   (Otherwise they are found resting with open wings.)
   They have a very interesting flight pattern.
   Because of a very low body weight to wing ratio, the Common Sailor is able to take a couple of wing beats, and then glide a significant distance, until they need to take a couple more wing beats.
    In the dry season, their dorsal wings will be black, with white markings. 

   Their ventral wing side will vary from pale golden to dark chocolate.

   They will have white markings as on the dorsal side, but broader and defined in black.

   In the wet season, the white markings are narrower and have a slightly darker ground color and broader black margins than the spots and bands on the ventral side.

   From a distance, the sexes look quite similar, but the female is quite large compared to the male.

   * More than 20 subspecies of Common Sailor have been described.