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.
Comments: NULL
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 5543 verified sightings
Observation date: Mar 21, 2019
Submitted by: Lisahug
Region: Sonoma County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 21, 2019
Observation date: Mar 21, 2019
Submitted by: RichHubie
Region: Mendocino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 21, 2019
Observation date: Mar 20, 2019
Submitted by: breck7348
Region: San Joaquin County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 20, 2019
Observation date: Mar 16, 2019
Submitted by: kwanseumbosal
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 17, 2019
Observation date: Mar 16, 2019
Submitted by: Bianca123
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 17, 2019
Observation date: Mar 14, 2019
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: Orange County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 14, 2019
Observation date: Mar 13, 2019
Submitted by: Jonathan Coffin
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 14, 2019
Observation date: Mar 13, 2019
Submitted by: wlriechel
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 14, 2019
Observation date: Mar 10, 2019
Submitted by: Hawkfeathyr
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 12, 2019
Observation date: Mar 10, 2019
Submitted by: reginacohn
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 12, 2019
Observation date: Mar 10, 2019
Submitted by: cosmic_cat
Region: Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Mar 11, 2019
Observation date: Mar 01, 2019
Submitted by: GwWings
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 01, 2019
Observation date: Mar 01, 2019
Submitted by: skthos
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 01, 2019
Observation date: Feb 27, 2019
Submitted by: erinlale
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Feb 28, 2019
Observation date: Feb 25, 2019
Submitted by: Zencoyote
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Feb 26, 2019
Observation date: Feb 25, 2019
Submitted by: ApexTx
Region: Riverside County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Feb 25, 2019
Observation date: Oct 28, 2017
Submitted by: hydapse
Region: Carbon County, Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Feb 01, 2019
Observation date: Sep 29, 2018
Submitted by: mathgeek
Region: Jackson County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: Doug Taron
Verified date: Feb 01, 2019
Observation date: Aug 27, 2017
Submitted by: lissum
Region: Tioga County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jan 30, 2019
Observation date: Aug 27, 2017
Submitted by: lissum
Region: Tioga County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jan 30, 2019
Observation date: Jan 27, 2019
Submitted by: MAKI
Region: California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jan 29, 2019
Observation date: Jun 29, 2017
Submitted by: altairpilot
Region: King County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Jan 29, 2019
Observation date: Nov 19, 2018
Submitted by: Zencoyote
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jan 28, 2019
Observation date: Oct 09, 2017
Submitted by: Gary Walton
Region: Carlton County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Jan 28, 2019
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