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