Insect Lore: Facts on the Painted Lady Butterfly
The painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) is a commonly found butterfly across the United States. This butterfly can be found on all continents worldwide except for Antarctica and Australia. The painted lady's habitat is widespread and this species is frequently found in gardens, dunes, fields and other open or disturbed areas.
Other People Are Reading
-
Scientific Classifications
-
Painted ladies are of the kingdom Animalia, the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order Lepidoptera, suborder Macrolepidoptera, family Nymphalidae, genus Vanessa and ultimately species - Vanessa cardui. Butterflies in the Nymphalidae family are considered brush-footed butterflies.
Description
-
The top side of the painted lady butterfly's wings are orange, brown and black with white spots. The underside is a mottled pattern of brown, black and gray with eyespots. The painted lady has a wingspan of 2 to 2 7/8 inches.
-
Nectar Plants
-
Painted lady butterflies feed on a variety of nectar plants. This butterfly prefers three- to six-foot-tall plants. Thistles are a favorite of painted ladies. They will also feed on cosmos, asters, butterfly bush, blazing star, joe pye weed, milkweed and ironweed. They will also feed on red clover, privet and buttonbush.
Host Plants
-
Painted ladies lay eggs on specific plants. These host plants provide nourishment for caterpillars until they pupate and emerge as adult butterflies. The organization Butterflies and Moths of North America notes that more than 100 host plants have been determined for the painted lady. Favorite host plants include thistles, mallow, hollyhock and lupine, as well as a variety of legumes.
Defense Mechanisms
-
As defense against predators, young caterpillars hide in silk nests on top of the leaves of their host plants. Adult painted ladies have mottled underwings with eyespots that create camouflage.
Miscellaneous
-
The painted lady butterfly is also called a thistle butterfly or the cosmopolitan. The nicknames stem from the painted lady's favorite food - thistles - and the fact that this butterfly has such a worldwide distribution.
-
References
- Photo Credit painted lady butterfly image by john barber from Fotolia.com
