Attributes of Vanessa cardui

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.
Taxonomy Notes:

Images of Vanessa cardui

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Vanessa cardui - Vanessa-cardui-dorsal-Queener-crop.jpg

Vanessa cardui - Vanessa-cardui-dorsal-Queener-crop.jpg
Vanessa cardui - Vanessa-cardui-dorsal-2-Queener-crop.jpg

Vanessa cardui - Vanessa-cardui-dorsal-2-Queener-crop.jpg

Vanessa cardui - Vanessa_carduiKsGrantJuly1-05CarolAdams-crop.jpg

Vanessa cardui - Vanessa_carduiKsGrantJuly1-05CarolAdams-crop.jpg
Vanessa cardui - Vanessa_carduiKsGrantJuly1-05CarolAdams-cropv.jpg

Vanessa cardui - Vanessa_carduiKsGrantJuly1-05CarolAdams-cropv.jpg
Vanessa cardui - Vanessa_carduiKsGrantSept26-05CarolAdams-cropd.jpg

Vanessa cardui - Vanessa_carduiKsGrantSept26-05CarolAdams-cropd.jpg
Vanessa cardui - Vanessa_cardui2.jpg

Vanessa cardui - Vanessa_cardui2.jpg
Vanessa cardui - Vanessa_cardui.jpg

Vanessa cardui - Vanessa_cardui.jpg



The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.

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By default, the fifty most recently verified sightings are below. Sort by Observation Date to see the most recent sightings, or filter the sightings by region to get a regional list.

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Observation Date Submitter Region Verified Datesort icon
August 13, 2012 mom2krb Erie County, New York, United States June 13, 2013 Details
September 29, 2012 mom2krb Erie County, New York, United States June 13, 2013 Details
September 30, 2012 mom2krb Erie County, New York, United States June 13, 2013 Details
October 02, 2012 mom2krb Erie County, New York, United States June 13, 2013 Details
June 11, 2013 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States June 11, 2013 Details
August 23, 2012 a-o Essex County, Massachusetts, United States June 06, 2013 Details
May 11, 2013 aahewetson Hood County, Texas, United States May 14, 2013 Details
August 16, 2012 PDunwiddie Clatsop County, Oregon, United States April 30, 2013 Details
April 28, 2013 DanielLichtblau Los Angeles County, California, United States April 29, 2013 Details
April 19, 2013 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States April 19, 2013 Details
November 01, 2012 johnindeming Luna County, New Mexico, United States April 16, 2013 Details
July 08, 2012 schmev24 Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States April 14, 2013 Details
August 16, 2012 Tiffanie Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States April 13, 2013 Details
April 10, 2013 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States April 11, 2013 Details
April 06, 2013 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States April 07, 2013 Details
April 29, 2012 AR Montgomery Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States April 05, 2013 Details
August 16, 2012 DJMG666 Ontario, Canada April 01, 2013 Details
November 17, 2012 jeffmci9 Texas, Travis County, United States March 19, 2013 Details
February 15, 2013 PDunwiddie Los Angeles County, California, United States February 19, 2013 Details
November 28, 2012 gunhilda Payne County, Oklahoma, United States February 12, 2013 Details
August 08, 2012 MarkScottsmltd Fannin County, Georgia, United States January 31, 2013 Details
November 02, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 29, 2013 Details
November 07, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 29, 2013 Details
November 07, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 29, 2013 Details
November 09, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 29, 2013 Details
October 30, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 28, 2013 Details
October 18, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 27, 2013 Details
October 19, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 27, 2013 Details
October 19, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 27, 2013 Details
October 19, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 27, 2013 Details
October 19, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 27, 2013 Details
October 26, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 27, 2013 Details
October 26, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 27, 2013 Details
October 20, 2012 CA Ivy Adair County, Oklahoma, United States January 20, 2013 Details
September 30, 2012 SandrGayle Powell County, Kentucky, United States January 15, 2013 Details
December 21, 2012 Cheryl Jennings Pima County, Arizona, United States January 08, 2013 Details
October 03, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 03, 2013 Details
October 04, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 03, 2013 Details
October 04, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 03, 2013 Details
October 04, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 03, 2013 Details
November 30, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States December 30, 2012 Details
November 28, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States December 29, 2012 Details
October 04, 2012 John Edkins Ontario, Canada December 25, 2012 Details
November 03, 2012 Ken Cheeks Aiken County, South Carolina, United States December 25, 2012 Details
July 26, 2012 Loco101 Tooele County, Utah, United States December 19, 2012 Details
September 02, 2012 babernethy Suffolk City County, Virginia, United States December 17, 2012 Details
December 10, 2012 opiliones Mohave County, Arizona, United States December 13, 2012 Details
October 09, 2012 Jonny Iroquois County, Illinois, United States December 10, 2012 Details
September 09, 2012 hgoerres Rankin County, Mississippi, United States December 07, 2012 Details
October 12, 1983 legacy.reporter ( R & D Rosche) Lincoln County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details