Wild Facts About The Painted Lady Butterfly
How To Identify Painted Lady Butterflies
- Painted Lady butterflies have wingspans up to 2.9 inches (7.4 cm) and orange bodies.
- Above:
- Forewings are coral orange with black markings and white patches near the wing tip.
- Hind wings are coral orange with dark spots and markings along the trailing edge.
- Below:
- Mottled brown with cream patches.
- Four small dark spots in a row along the training edge of the hind wings.
- Painted Lady butterflies are spring and summer visitors to most of the eastern United States.
- They can be found throughout the state but are never very abundant.
- These butterflies are very cold tolerant and can’t survive in areas that experience sustained freezing temperatures.
- Rather than overwinter in the United States, Painted Lady butterflies spend the winter months in Mexico and only disperse north into the United States when temperatures warm, and remain consistent, above freezing.
- The exception is in the deep South and Florida, where adults can survive mild winters.
- Rather than overwinter in the United States, Painted Lady butterflies spend the winter months in Mexico and only disperse north into the United States when temperatures warm, and remain consistent, above freezing.
- Look for Painted Lady butterflies in open, sunny areas like old fields, utility easements, roadsides, and home gardens.
Painted Lady Eyespots Depend On Temperature
- Painted Lady butterflies display four almost equal-sized eyespots on the underside of their hind wings.
- Each eyespot is made up of concentric color rings that appear distinct in some eyespots and subtle in others.
- The rings include:
- A black outer border,
- Yellow,
- Orange,
- Blue,
- Black center
- The rings include:
- While the development of these eyespots is genetic, temperatures experienced by Painted Lady pupae affects the final appearance for individual adult butterflies.
- Depending on whether the pupae experience cold shock or heat shock, temperature extremes cause:
- Eyespot size reduction,
- Failure of eyespots to develop at all,
- Thinner black borders,
- Reduced color saturation of some eyespot rings,
- Increased color saturation of some eyespot rings (Connahs, Rhen, and Simmons 2016, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0161745).
- Depending on whether the pupae experience cold shock or heat shock, temperature extremes cause:
Migrators Extraordinaires
Transatlantic Crossing
- Many different butterfly species migrate impressive distances, including the famous Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) which migrates many thousands of kilometers here in North America.
- But Painted Lady butterflies also perform impressive migrations.
- And while they may not cover quite as many kilometers as their Monarch cousins, Painted Lady Butterflies fly over an ocean and between entire continents.
- A 2024 article published in Nature Communications reported that a transatlantic crossing by Vanessa cardui butterflies that spanned at least 4200 kilometers (2610 miles).
- The Painted Ladies flew from West Africa to French Guiana in South America over a period of five and eight days.
- And it’s likely that the Painted Ladies actually came from Western Europe, which would expand the total distance covered to at least 7000 km (4359 miles) (Suchan, Bataille, and Reich 2024, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49079-2).
- A 2024 article published in Nature Communications reported that a transatlantic crossing by Vanessa cardui butterflies that spanned at least 4200 kilometers (2610 miles).
Impressive To Us, Vital To Painted Ladies
- Painted Lady Butterflies don’t undertake such an impressive migration just for fun.
- Instead, they likely benefit from migrating—at least in part—because moving to new locations allows them to leave their enemies behind temporarily.
- A study that researched parasitism of V. cardui in two key regions within the species’ migratory route between Africa and Europe found that:
- Many different animals parasitize Painted Lady caterpillars and pupae, including various species of:
- Ichneumonid wasps (family Ichneumonididae),
- Braconid wasps (family Braconidae),
- Chalcid wasps (family Chalcidae),
- Pteromalid wasps (family Pteromalidae),
- Tachinid flies (family Tachinidae) (Stefanescu et al 2012, http://www.filming-varwild.com/articles/mark_shaw/264_parasitism_vanessa_cardui_2012.pdf)
- Many different animals parasitize Painted Lady caterpillars and pupae, including various species of:
- Parasitism rates among the sampled first and last Painted Lady generations varied by time of year in both northeastern Spain and central Morocco:
- The percentage of Painted Lady caterpillars parasitized was more than four times higher in late summer than in spring (77.3% vs. 18% respectively) in Spain, and five times higher by the end of winter than in autumn (66.2% vs. 13.2% respectively) in Morocco (Stefanescu et al 2012, http://www.filming-varwild.com/articles/mark_shaw/264_parasitism_vanessa_cardui_2012.pdf).
- A study that researched parasitism of V. cardui in two key regions within the species’ migratory route between Africa and Europe found that:
Similar Species
- Painted Lady butterflies look very like another common and widespread butterfly in genus Vanessa, the American Lady Butterfly (Vanessa virginiensis).
Similarities Between Painted Lady And American Lady Butterflies
- Both Painted Lady and American Lady Butterflies are widely distributed across the entire eastern United States during the spring and summer and look very similar.
- Both have:
- A row of black submarginal spots on their orange, black, and white dorsal hind wings,
- A jagged black spot on their dorsal forewings,
- Intricate, lace-like brown, tan, cream, and white ventral wings,
- Large eye spots on their ventral hind wings.
Differences Between Painted Lady And American Lady Butterflies
- Some of the differences between the Painted Lady butterfly and its close cousin, the American Lady Butterfly are subtle but others are a lot more obvious.
- Submarginal Spots:
- The Painted Lady’s submarginal spots are small, solid black, and separated from each other,
- The American Lady’s spots are pale in the center, rimmed in black, and sometimes connect to each other.
- Black Forewing Spot:
- The Painted Lady’s mark is continuous,
- The American Lady’s mark is broken.
- Ventral Hind Wing Eyespots:
- The Painted Lady has four relatively small eyespots on its ventral hind wing,
- The American Lady has two, much larger ventral hind wing eyespots.
- One other major difference is the Painted Lady lacks the tiny white dot seen on the American Lady butterfly’s dorsal forewing.
Scientific Classification
|
Kingdom |
Animalia (animals) |
|
Phylum |
Arthropoda (arthropods) |
|
Class |
Insecta (insects) |
|
Order |
Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) |
|
Family |
Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies) |
|
Genus |
Vanessa |
|
Species |
V. cardui |
Scientific Name |
Vanessa cardui |
Painted Lady Butterfly Photo Gallery
- Painted Lady Butterfly. Vanessa cardui. Orange butterfly. Insect. Photograph taken and design created by the author. Copyright © 2025 Now I Wonder. All rights reserved.
- Painted Lady Butterfly. Vanessa cardui. Orange butterfly. Insect. Photograph taken and design created by the author. Copyright © 2025 Now I Wonder. All rights reserved.
- Painted Lady Butterfly. Vanessa cardui. Orange butterfly. Insect. Photograph taken and design created by the author. Copyright © 2025 Now I Wonder. All rights reserved.
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