Painted Lady

§ Quick facts

§ Encyclopedia

Vanessa cardui is the most widespread of all butterfly species. It is commonly called the painted lady, or formerly in North America the cosmopolitan.

Source: Wikipedia — Vanessa cardui · Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

§ Identification

Field marks. Medium butterfly with orange-and-black upper wings; four small black eye-spots on underside of hindwing (Painted Lady — vs. American Lady's 2 large eye-spots); pink-brown undersides.

Similar species. American Lady (two large eye-spots on hindwing underside). West Coast Lady (different markings). Red Admiral (red wing bars).

Voice. N/A

§ Diet & behavior

Diet. Adults: nectar (many flowers — milkweed, dogbane, aster, thistle). Caterpillars: thistles (primary), mallows, hollyhock, some legumes.

Behavior. Among the most widespread butterflies on Earth — found on every continent except Antarctica. Massive irruptions some years bring billions of Painted Ladies migrating from Mexican breeding grounds through the western US into Canada. Documented multigenerational migration from Mexico to Alaska then back — among the longest insect migrations known. Caterpillars build silken nests on host plants.

§ Range

Worldwide; across North America

§ Habitat

Diverse: meadows, gardens, deserts, fields

§ Threats

Pesticide drift, drought-driven host plant declines.

§ Conservation status

According to the IUCN Red List, the painted lady is currently classified as Least Concern.

§ What helps

Plant thistles in garden corners (a key host). Skip pesticides. Plant flowering nectar sources.

§ Further reading

• Wikipedia — Vanessa cardui
• www.nwf.org — authoritative profile of Vanessa cardui
• iNaturalist · taxon 49294
• IUCN Red List — search for Vanessa cardui
• GBIF occurrence records
• Encyclopedia of Life — Vanessa cardui

§ Sources cited

• Butterflies and Moths of North America
• Xerces Society
• Journey North
• iNaturalist