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 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Bergen County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Burlington County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Camden County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Cape May County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Essex County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Hudson County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Morris County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Ocean County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Passaic County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Salem County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Somerset County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Sussex County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Union County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Warren County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Coos County, New Hampshire, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Bibb County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Pickens County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Madison County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Mobile County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | DeKalb County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Henry County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Houston County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Jackson County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Calhoun County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Barbour County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Conecuh County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Cleburne County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Baldwin County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Lee County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Jefferson County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Montgomery County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Shelby County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Arkansas County, Arkansas, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Benton County, Arkansas, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Carroll County, Arkansas, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details |
