Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus, 1758)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Nymphalinae
Identification: Upperside is orange-brown with darker wing bases; forewing with black apex patch and white bar on leading edge; hindwing submarginal row of 5 small black spots sometimes has blue scales. Underside has a black, brown, and gray pattern with 4 small submarginal eyespots.
Wing Span: 2 - 2 7/8 inches (5.1 - 7.3 cm).
Life History: Males perch and patrol during the afternoon for receptive females. In the West males usually perch on shrubs on hilltops, while in the East males perch on bare ground in open areas. Females lay eggs singly on the tops of host plant leaves. Caterpillars live in silk nests and eat leaves. Adults hibernate only in the South and in mild winters.
Flight: One to three flights in the East from May-October, three to four flights in South Texas from October-April.
Caterpillar Hosts: More than 100 host plants have been noted; favorites include thistles (Asteraceae), hollyhock and mallow (Malvaceae), and various legumes (Fabaceae).
Adult Food: The Painted Lady prefers nectar from composites 3-6 feet high, especially thistles; also aster, cosmos, blazing star, ironweed, and joe-pye weed. Flowers from other families that are visited include red clover, buttonbush, privet, and milkweeds.
Habitat: Almost everywhere, especially in open or disturbed areas including gardens, old fields, dunes.
Range: On all continents except Australia and Antarctica. From the deserts of northern Mexico, the Painted Lady migrates and temporarily colonizes the United States and Canada south of the Arctic. Occasionally, population explosions in Mexico will cause massive northward migrations. Comments: The Painted Lady is also known as the Thistle Butterfly because of the caterpillars' food preference and also as the Cosmopolitan because it is the most widely distributed butterfly in the world.
Conservation: Not required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 49 - 72 of 215 verified sightings
Observation date: Aug 01, 2017
Submitted by: EleanorR
Region: Nova Scotia, Canada
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Feb 27, 2022
Observation date: Jul 14, 2019
Submitted by: Asclepiade
Region: Quebec, Canada
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Feb 19, 2022
Observation date: Jul 20, 2017
Submitted by: Amanda142
Region: Alberta, Canada
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Feb 03, 2022
Observation date: Sep 01, 2017
Submitted by: Jafar48
Region: Alberta, Canada
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Feb 03, 2022
Observation date: May 20, 2019
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Aug 31, 2021
Observation date: Jun 14, 2019
Submitted by: J and D
Region: Manitoba, Canada
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 19, 2021
Observation date: Sep 23, 2019
Submitted by: bshettler
Region: Manitoba, Canada
Verified by: chalicerae
Verified date: Jul 18, 2021
Observation date: Sep 30, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Oct 19, 2020
Observation date: Sep 29, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Oct 09, 2020
Observation date: Sep 27, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Oct 08, 2020
Observation date: Jun 13, 2020
Submitted by: HimmelBerries
Region: Saskatchewan, Canada
Verified by: A_baldini
Verified date: Aug 19, 2020
Observation date: Jul 17, 2020
Submitted by: one72guy
Region: Saskatchewan, Canada
Verified by: A_baldini
Verified date: Aug 19, 2020
Observation date: Aug 09, 2019
Submitted by: Baggiobat
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jun 20, 2020
Observation date: Sep 22, 2019
Submitted by: Fyerchicken
Region: Manitoba, Canada
Verified by: chalicerae
Verified date: Jun 17, 2020
Observation date: Jul 26, 2019
Submitted by: nova79
Region: Manitoba, Canada
Verified by: chalicerae
Verified date: Jun 17, 2020
Observation date: Sep 17, 2019
Submitted by: Reiner Jakubowski
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Mar 31, 2020
Observation date: Sep 20, 2019
Submitted by: Reiner Jakubowski
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Mar 31, 2020
Observation date: Sep 26, 2019
Submitted by: Reiner Jakubowski
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Mar 31, 2020
Observation date: Oct 29, 2019
Submitted by: IKSO_99
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Oct 29, 2019
Observation date: Oct 18, 2019
Submitted by: SaraJE
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Oct 18, 2019
Observation date: Sep 27, 2019
Submitted by: Cherylee Black
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Oct 02, 2019
Observation date: Sep 06, 2019
Submitted by: Sunflowerman
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Oct 01, 2019
Observation date: Sep 23, 2019
Submitted by: Anne Davison
Region: Manitoba, Canada
Verified by: chalicerae
Verified date: Sep 28, 2019
Observation date: Sep 10, 2019
Submitted by: Cherylee Black
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 26, 2019
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