West Coast Lady
Vanessa annabella (Field, 1971)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Nymphalinae
Identification: Upperside is orange-brown with an orange bar at the leading edge of the forewing; hindwing with 3 or 4 blue submarginal spots. Underside with complex pattern; eyespots are obscured by other markings.
Wing Span: 1 1/2 - 2 1/4 inches (3/8 - 5.7 cm).
Life History: Males perch to watch for receptive females. Females lay eggs singly on upperside of host plant leaves; caterpillars eat leaves and live in a silken nest. Adults hibernate.
Flight: Many flights throughout the year in lowland California; two flights, summer and fall, in the Rocky Mountains; one flight in higher mountains.
Caterpillar Hosts: Many plants in the mallow family (Malvaceae) including tree mallow (Lavatera), globe mallow (Sphaeralcea), bush mallow (Malvastrum), mallow (Malva), alkali mallow (Sida), checkerbloom (Sidalcea), and hollyhock (Althea).
Adult Food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Open places including weedy areas, gardens, roadsides, fields, foothills, chaparral, disturbed areas.
Range: Western North America from southern British Columbia south to Baja California Norte; south and east to Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, and Mexico. Strays to central Kansas, eastern North Dakota, and southern Ontario.
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: Occasionally causes minor damage to hollyhock (Althaea) leaves.
Comments: NULL
Get your BAMONA Gear!
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 25 - 48 of 947 verified sightings
Observation date: Oct 06, 2023
Submitted by: madamirie
Region: Monterey County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 23, 2023
Observation date: Oct 07, 2023
Submitted by: madamirie
Region: Monterey County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 22, 2023
Observation date: Oct 07, 2023
Submitted by: madamirie
Region: Monterey County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 22, 2023
Observation date: Oct 08, 2023
Submitted by: Sue Bocchicchio
Region: Orange County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 22, 2023
Observation date: Oct 13, 2023
Submitted by: caterfly
Region: Mariposa County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 14, 2023
Observation date: Sep 30, 2023
Submitted by: TomObrock
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 09, 2023
Observation date: Sep 22, 2023
Submitted by: Karen Richardson
Region: Sacramento County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 28, 2023
Observation date: Sep 27, 2023
Submitted by: Burr Heneman
Region: Marin County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 28, 2023
Observation date: Jul 16, 2023
Submitted by: baileyjt
Region: Alameda County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 07, 2023
Observation date: Aug 23, 2023
Submitted by: bkbrott
Region: San Mateo County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 06, 2023
Observation date: Oct 19, 2022
Submitted by: peskypinto
Region: Yavapai County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Sep 04, 2023
Observation date: Aug 23, 2023
Submitted by: hasfitz5
Region: Amador County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 31, 2023
Observation date: Aug 23, 2023
Submitted by: hasfitz5
Region: Amador County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 31, 2023
Observation date: Aug 30, 2023
Submitted by: cjgoin
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 31, 2023
Observation date: Aug 18, 2020
Submitted by: Robb Hannawacker
Region: San Juan County, Utah, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 21, 2023
Observation date: Jul 24, 2017
Submitted by: mhearell
Region: Weber County, Utah, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 21, 2023
Observation date: Jul 24, 2017
Submitted by: dingoqueen
Region: Weber County, Utah, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 21, 2023
Observation date: Aug 07, 2023
Submitted by: MAKI
Region: Santa Barbara County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 18, 2023
Observation date: Aug 16, 2023
Submitted by: Kara Henderson
Region: San Francisco County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 16, 2023
Observation date: Jul 20, 2023
Submitted by: jaspiegs
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 10, 2023
Observation date: Jul 27, 2023
Submitted by: Dobber31
Region: San Mateo County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 03, 2023
Observation date: Jul 15, 2023
Submitted by: Joshua C
Region: Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 31, 2023
Observation date: Jul 26, 2023
Submitted by: Lori Bellis
Region: Washoe County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jul 27, 2023
Observation date: Jul 20, 2023
Submitted by: topper72
Region: Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 21, 2023
- ‹ previous
- 2 of 40
- next ›