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 73 - 96 of 214 verified sightings
Observation date: Sep 19, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 24, 2019
Observation date: Sep 09, 2019
Submitted by: Sunflowerman
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 24, 2019
Observation date: Sep 16, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 22, 2019
Observation date: Sep 17, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 22, 2019
Observation date: Sep 22, 2019
Submitted by: Craig William
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 22, 2019
Observation date: Sep 21, 2019
Submitted by: kpatnode
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 22, 2019
Observation date: Sep 15, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 21, 2019
Observation date: Sep 16, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 21, 2019
Observation date: Sep 14, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 21, 2019
Observation date: Sep 14, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 21, 2019
Observation date: Sep 13, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 20, 2019
Observation date: Sep 12, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 18, 2019
Observation date: Sep 11, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 18, 2019
Observation date: Sep 17, 2019
Submitted by: Sunflowerman
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 18, 2019
Observation date: Sep 05, 2019
Submitted by: Sunflowerman
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 18, 2019
Observation date: Sep 10, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 16, 2019
Observation date: Sep 08, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 16, 2019
Observation date: Sep 09, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 16, 2019
Observation date: Sep 05, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 15, 2019
Observation date: Sep 03, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 14, 2019
Observation date: Sep 02, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 13, 2019
Observation date: Sep 03, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 13, 2019
Observation date: Sep 01, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 11, 2019
Observation date: Sep 01, 2019
Submitted by: Sunflowerman
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 03, 2019
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