Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui
The Painted Lady has a readily identifiable patterm on its upperwings. The pattern of black and white towards the wing tips is replaced by a light orange and black pattern nearer to the body. Newly-emerged individuals have a beautiful rose-pink flush, but this soons fades.
Although this species is a migrant, it may have several broods while it is here. The eggs are laid singly on various species of thistle, on Nettle, Mallow and Viper's Bugloss. The caterpillar emerges from its egg after about a week, and then spends most of its life in a tent constructed from leaves. Similar in appearance to the caterpillar of the Red Admiral, it is slightly more slender and has a yellow stripe running along the length of its sides.
Numbers fluctuate dramatically from one year to the next but, allowing for this, it is clear from monitored sites that there has been a long-term increase in numbers. It is thought that this may be linked to global climate change.
Share this page