American Lady
Vanessa virginiensis (Drury, 1773)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Nymphalinae
Identification: Upperside with uneven brown, yellow, and orange pattern. Forewing with a black apical patch, a small white spot in the orange field below the patch, and a white bar at the leading edge of the forewing. Underside of hindwing with two large eyespots. Winter form is smaller and paler, summer form larger with brighter coloring.
Wing Span: 1 3/4 - 2 5/8 inches (4.5 - 6.7 cm).
Life History: During the afternoon, males perch on hilltops or on low vegetation if there are no hills. Females lay eggs singly on the top of host plant leaves. Caterpillars are solitary, living and feeding in a nest of leaves tied with silk. Adults hibernate.
Flight: Three to four broods from May-November, all year in the Deep South and South Texas. It is not known if adults can survive very cold winters; the East may have to be recolonized each year by southern migrants.
Caterpillar Hosts: Plants in the sunflower family everlasting (Gnaphalium obtusifolium), pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea), plantain-leaved pussy toes (Antennaria plantaginifolia), wormwood (Artemisia), ironweed (Vernonia), and burdock (Arctium).
Adult Food: Flower nectar almost exclusively, including dogbane, aster, goldenrod, marigold, selfheal, common milkweed, and vetch.
Habitat: Open places with low vegetation including dunes, meadows, parks, vacant lots, forest edges.
Range: Resident in the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America south to Colombia. Migrates to and temporarily colonizes the northern United States, southern Canada, the West Indies, and Europe. Rare stray to Newfoundland and Labrador.
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.
Comments: NULL
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 11060 verified sightings
Observation date: Sep 04, 2019
Submitted by: dettdetect74
Region: Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 08, 2019
Observation date: Sep 07, 2019
Submitted by: Christine Stanke
Region: Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Sep 08, 2019
Observation date: Jul 31, 2019
Submitted by: Markus M
Region: Jalisco, Mexico
Verified by: Doug Taron
Verified date: Sep 05, 2019
Observation date: Aug 31, 2019
Submitted by: Jim Lowe
Region: St. Lawrence County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 03, 2019
Observation date: Sep 02, 2019
Submitted by: Redsquirrel69
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 02, 2019
Observation date: Aug 30, 2019
Submitted by: RMarkows
Region: Nassau County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 01, 2019
Observation date: Aug 30, 2019
Submitted by: Kathleen_Ashman
Region: Orange County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 01, 2019
Observation date: Aug 24, 2019
Submitted by: Timbreland16
Region: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 29, 2019
Observation date: Aug 28, 2019
Submitted by: EMB
Region: Franklin County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 28, 2019
Observation date: Aug 24, 2019
Submitted by: Bambi E. Friedman
Region: Kings County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 28, 2019
Observation date: Jun 24, 2019
Submitted by: mathgeek
Region: Jackson County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 27, 2019
Observation date: Jun 27, 2012
Submitted by: HansPG
Region: Cook County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 26, 2019
Observation date: Aug 21, 2019
Submitted by: MAKI
Region: Santa Barbara County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 25, 2019
Observation date: Aug 22, 2019
Submitted by: monikawood
Region: Steuben County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 23, 2019
Observation date: Aug 20, 2019
Submitted by: Dennis Forsythe
Region: Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Aug 23, 2019
Observation date: Aug 15, 2019
Submitted by: cstofko
Region: Erie County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 19, 2019
Observation date: Feb 22, 2019
Submitted by: Craig M Lipski
Region: Hidalgo County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 18, 2019
Observation date: Aug 10, 2018
Submitted by: Craig M Lipski
Region: Livingston County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 16, 2019
Observation date: Jul 12, 2019
Submitted by: lindajrudd
Region: Kalkaska County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 14, 2019
Observation date: Aug 11, 2019
Submitted by: VictoriaStrauss
Region: Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 13, 2019
Observation date: Aug 11, 2019
Submitted by: Cormath
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 12, 2019
Observation date: Aug 02, 2019
Submitted by: Christine Stanke
Region: Portage County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Aug 11, 2019
Observation date: Aug 10, 2019
Submitted by: A.M.Rausch
Region: Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Aug 11, 2019
Observation date: Jul 26, 2019
Submitted by: commentator
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 10, 2019
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