Attributes of Vanessa virginiensis
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.
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Vanessa virginiensis
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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.
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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May 18, 2013 | CA Ivy | Adair County, Oklahoma, United States | May 19, 2013 | Details |
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May 12, 2013 | aahewetson | Hood County, Texas, United States | May 14, 2013 | Details |
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April 20, 2013 | Terry W. Johnson | Monroe County, Georgia, United States | May 13, 2013 | Details |
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September 09, 2012 | KristyBaker | Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States | May 11, 2013 | Details |
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May 11, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | May 11, 2013 | Details |
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May 01, 2013 | LLJohnson | Dominican Republic | May 09, 2013 | Details |
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April 26, 2013 | Ken Cheeks | Aiken County, South Carolina, United States | May 09, 2013 | Details |
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May 01, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | May 03, 2013 | Details |
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May 01, 2013 | gunhilda | Payne County, Oklahoma, United States | May 01, 2013 | Details |
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April 21, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States | April 21, 2013 | Details |
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April 20, 2013 | CA Ivy | Adair County, Oklahoma, United States | April 20, 2013 | Details |
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April 01, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | April 03, 2013 | Details |
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October 03, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | March 27, 2013 | Details |
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March 16, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | March 27, 2013 | Details |
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March 17, 2013 | Ken Cheeks | Aiken County, South Carolina, United States | March 27, 2013 | Details |
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February 21, 2013 | Kimberly Mrozinski | Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States | February 21, 2013 | Details |
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October 16, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | January 27, 2013 | Details |
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October 16, 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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January 13, 2013 | John van Dort | Comayagua, Honduras | January 14, 2013 | Details |
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May 27, 2010 | dpgbfly1 | Anoka County, Minnesota, United States | January 06, 2013 | Details |
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November 28, 2012 | gunhilda | Payne County, Oklahoma, United States | January 04, 2013 | Details |
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April 25, 2012 | LinRandolph | Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States | January 04, 2013 | Details |
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October 04, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | January 03, 2013 | Details |
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June 09, 2011 | Debbie Taylor | Pope County, Arkansas, United States | January 02, 2013 | Details |
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December 06, 2012 | JimConrad | Texas, United States, Uvalde County | December 27, 2012 | Details |
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November 20, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | December 25, 2012 | Details |
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November 18, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | December 22, 2012 | Details |
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August 30, 2012 | Cathy110 | James City County, Virginia, United States | December 17, 2012 | Details |
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December 06, 2012 | jacqueline67 | Ontario, Canada | December 16, 2012 | Details |
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August 26, 2012 | John429 | Wayne County, Michigan, United States | December 10, 2012 | Details |
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October 13, 2012 | Doug Bruce | Rankin County, Mississippi, United States | December 07, 2012 | Details |
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May 27, 2012 | deweidemann | Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States | December 04, 2012 | Details |
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November 30, 2012 | Kimberly Mrozinski | Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States | December 04, 2012 | Details |
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October 17, 2012 | rseidler | DeKalb County, Georgia, United States | December 03, 2012 | Details |
| April 10, 1988 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 16, 1961 | legacy.reporter (W. Hedges) | Yuma County, Arizona, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| March 06, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Bibb County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| March 14, 2012 | legacy.reporter (Sara Bright) | Jefferson County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| March 28, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Jefferson County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| March 31, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Bibb County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| April 01, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Cleburne County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| April 07, 2012 | legacy.reporter (Kazuo Inagaki) | Bibb County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| April 07, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Jefferson County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| April 08, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| April 10, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Baldwin County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| April 11, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Baldwin County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| April 12, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Dallas County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| April 13, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Shelby County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| April 13, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Jefferson County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details |
