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 193 - 215 of 215 verified sightings
Observation date: Oct 09, 2012
Submitted by: Cherylee Black
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 02, 2013
Observation date: Aug 14, 2012
Submitted by: Cherylee Black
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 02, 2013
Observation date: Aug 14, 2012
Submitted by: Cherylee Black
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 02, 2013
Observation date: Aug 14, 2012
Submitted by: Cherylee Black
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 02, 2013
Observation date: Aug 14, 2012
Submitted by: Cherylee Black
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 02, 2013
Observation date: Aug 16, 2012
Submitted by: DJMG666
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Apr 01, 2013
Observation date: Oct 04, 2012
Submitted by: John Edkins
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Dec 25, 2012
Observation date: Sep 17, 2012
Submitted by: born_standin_up...
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 21, 2012
Observation date: Sep 17, 2012
Submitted by: born_standin_up...
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 21, 2012
Observation date: Sep 17, 2012
Submitted by: born_standin_up...
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 21, 2012
Observation date: Aug 28, 2012
Submitted by: Janet Tubb
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 13, 2012
Observation date: Aug 29, 2012
Submitted by: Janet Tubb
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 13, 2012
Observation date: Aug 30, 2012
Submitted by: Janet Tubb
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 13, 2012
Observation date: Aug 17, 2012
Submitted by: Janet Tubb
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 29, 2012
Observation date: Aug 14, 2012
Submitted by: Gorgumplatz
Region: Quebec, Canada
Verified by: chantalhamelkropf
Verified date: Aug 28, 2012
Observation date: Aug 12, 2012
Submitted by: Hemlass
Region: Quebec, Canada
Verified by: chantalhamelkropf
Verified date: Aug 28, 2012
Observation date: Aug 11, 2012
Submitted by: Janet Tubb
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: BAMONA
Verified date: Aug 27, 2012
Observation date: Jun 24, 2012
Submitted by: Tee-tee
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 24, 2012
Observation date: Aug 15, 2012
Submitted by: BeaLaporte
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 21, 2012
Observation date: Jul 25, 2012
Submitted by: Janet Tubb
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 26, 2012
Observation date: May 23, 2012
Submitted by: dvanes12
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 23, 2012
Observation date: Jul 30, 2007
Submitted by: chantalhamelkropf (Chantal Hamel-Kropf)
Region: Quebec, Canada
Verified by: chantalhamelkropf (Chantal Hamel-Kropf)
Verified date: Nov 01, 2010
Observation date: Jul 07, 2004
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Julien Delisle)
Region: Quebec, Canada
Verified by: legacy.verifier (The Lepidopterists' Society Season Summary)
Verified date: Sep 13, 2010
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