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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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 200 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.
Instructions: Click on the map and move your mouse to pan.
Zoom by using the plus [+] and minus [-] on the left side of the map.
To change which map layers are displayed, click on the plus sign [+] on the right side of the map.
The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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June 05, 2008 | hjbarkey9 | Routt County, Colorado, United States | May 15, 2012 | Details |
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May 12, 2012 | Lauenstein | Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States | May 13, 2012 | Details |
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April 29, 2012 | slbaird1957 | Texas, Tarrant County, United States | May 08, 2012 | Details |
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April 17, 2012 | photojuls | Texas, United States | May 08, 2012 | Details |
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May 04, 2012 | taramunro | Pennington County, South Dakota, United States | May 06, 2012 | Details |
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May 05, 2012 | jim8435wisc | Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States | May 06, 2012 | Details |
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May 02, 2012 | treehugger_007 | Lake County, Ohio, United States | May 05, 2012 | Details |
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April 30, 2012 | tkingsto | Texas, Lubbock County, United States | May 02, 2012 | Details |
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March 20, 2012 | JimHinson | Maricopa County, Arizona, United States | May 01, 2012 | Details |
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March 17, 2012 | susansbugs | Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States | April 16, 2012 | Details |
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August 28, 2010 | Chip Krilowicz | Cecil County, Maryland, United States | April 15, 2012 | Details |
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April 11, 2012 | jdupton | Texas, United States, Williamson County | April 13, 2012 | Details |
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March 27, 2012 | sararobinson | Kalawao County, Hawaii, United States | April 08, 2012 | Details |
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August 25, 2011 | Jessica Womack | Fannin County, Texas, United States | April 02, 2012 | Details |
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July 28, 2011 | Nancy Lea Sandy | Natrona County, Wyoming, United States | March 28, 2012 | Details |
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October 19, 2009 | cfhayes | Liberty County, Georgia, United States | March 26, 2012 | Details |
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March 21, 2012 | David Allen Jones | Orange County, California, United States | March 22, 2012 | Details |
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March 15, 2012 | pedalpics | Pima County, Arizona, United States | March 20, 2012 | Details |
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March 08, 2012 | AKimages | San Diego County, California, United States | March 20, 2012 | Details |
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September 25, 2011 | Chip Krilowicz | Burlington County, New Jersey, United States | March 18, 2012 | Details |
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August 12, 2010 | Amateur Entomologist | San Luis Obispo County, California, United States | February 20, 2012 | Details |
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October 23, 2011 | Becky Byrum | Delaware County, Indiana, United States | February 09, 2012 | Details |
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September 06, 2010 | Karen Adams | Franklin County, Ohio, United States | January 21, 2012 | Details |
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July 16, 2005 | cyric | Washington County, Rhode Island, United States | December 24, 2011 | Details |
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September 10, 2007 | Larry522 | Washington County, Vermont, United States | December 23, 2011 | Details |
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August 03, 2005 | Roy Zartarian | Grand Isle County, Vermont, United States | December 12, 2011 | Details |
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November 30, 2011 | scarlettsdad | Bexar County, Texas, United States | December 07, 2011 | Details |
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August 21, 2009 | rdhealy1951 | Hart County, Kentucky, United States | November 29, 2011 | Details |
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July 14, 2008 | rdhealy1951 | Hart County, Kentucky, United States | November 29, 2011 | Details |
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August 14, 2011 | J_Martineau | Johnson County, Wyoming, United States | November 27, 2011 | Details |
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October 16, 2011 | henryr10 | Hamilton County, Ohio, United States | November 16, 2011 | Details |
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October 23, 2011 | aahewetson | Texas, United States, Upton County | November 10, 2011 | Details |
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October 23, 2011 | GarPhotog | San Diego County, California, United States | October 31, 2011 | Details |
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October 24, 2011 | rseidler | Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States | October 29, 2011 | Details |
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October 24, 2011 | KarenL | Williamson County, Tennessee, United States | October 25, 2011 | Details |
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October 16, 2011 | rjcohrs | Hancock County, Indiana, United States | October 22, 2011 | Details |
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October 15, 2011 | benponting4816 | New Mexico, United States | October 18, 2011 | Details |
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October 02, 2011 | Chris Hayes | Rice County, Minnesota, United States | October 14, 2011 | Details |
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September 11, 2011 | DunkerKF3 | Story County, Iowa, United States | September 26, 2011 | Details |
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September 10, 2011 | LJacobs | Texas, Tarrant County, United States | September 20, 2011 | Details |
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August 08, 2011 | tclapp | Red Willow County, Nebraska, United States | September 15, 2011 | Details |
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August 13, 2011 | bmjewell | Johnson County, Missouri, United States | September 08, 2011 | Details |
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August 19, 2011 | Randy L Anderson | Henderson County, Illinois, United States | August 29, 2011 | Details |
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August 21, 2011 | jim8435wisc | Calumet County, Wisconsin, United States | August 22, 2011 | Details |
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September 09, 2003 | Larry Smith | Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States | August 18, 2011 | Details |
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September 10, 2009 | Howell Curtis | Crawford County, Indiana, United States | August 18, 2011 | Details |
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July 27, 2011 | TLee142347 | McLean County, Illinois, United States | August 16, 2011 | Details |
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August 14, 2011 | aarongunnar | Dane County, Wisconsin, United States | August 16, 2011 | Details |
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August 14, 2010 | aarongunnar | Pepin County, Wisconsin, United States | August 10, 2011 | Details |
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September 20, 2010 | Howell Curtis | Madison County, Indiana, United States | August 02, 2011 | Details |
