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The Painted Lady group of colourful butterflies
Butterfly

A butterfly is an insect of the Order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual Biological life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form....
 comprises the subgenus
Subgenus

In biology, a subgenus is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. See rank and rank .In ICZN, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a binomen, in parentheses, placed between the name of a biological genus and specific name: e.g....
 Cynthia of the genus Vanessa
Vanessa (butterfly)

Vanessa is a genus of brush-footed butterfly butterflies. Many people are familiar with it, as it has a near-global distribution and includes conspicuous species such as the red admirals , the Kamehameha butterfly, or the painted ladies of subgenus Cynthia : Vanessa cardui, American Painted Lady, Australian Painted Lady, e...
 in the Family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Nymphalidae
Nymphalidae

The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterfly which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies....
. They are well known throughout most of the world.

The group includes the Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui
Vanessa cardui

The Painted Lady is a well-known colourful butterfly, sometimes known in North America as the Cosmopolitan.It is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica....
), which is almost global in its distribution; Australian Painted Lady
Australian painted lady

Vanessa kershawi, commonly known as the Australian Painted Lady, is a butterfly that is mostly confined to Australia, although westerly winds have dispersed it to islands east of Australia, including New Zealand....
 (Vanessa kershawi); American Painted Lady
American Painted Lady

The American Painted Lady is a butterfly that is found throughout North America.V. virginiensis lives in flowery habitats, usually in mountains....
 (Vanessa virginiensis) and West Coast Lady
West Coast Lady

The West Coast Lady is one of three North American species of Nymphalidae butterflies known colloquially as the "painted ladies". V. annabella occurs throughout much of the western US....
 (Vanessa annabella).

> In general, the Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui

The Painted Lady is a well-known colourful butterfly, sometimes known in North America as the Cosmopolitan.It is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica....
 is a large butterfly (wing span 5-9 cm (2 - 2 7/8 in)) identified by the black and white corners of its mainly deep orange, black-spotted wings.






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Encyclopedia


The Painted Lady group of colourful butterflies
Butterfly

A butterfly is an insect of the Order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual Biological life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form....
 comprises the subgenus
Subgenus

In biology, a subgenus is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. See rank and rank .In ICZN, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a binomen, in parentheses, placed between the name of a biological genus and specific name: e.g....
 Cynthia of the genus Vanessa
Vanessa (butterfly)

Vanessa is a genus of brush-footed butterfly butterflies. Many people are familiar with it, as it has a near-global distribution and includes conspicuous species such as the red admirals , the Kamehameha butterfly, or the painted ladies of subgenus Cynthia : Vanessa cardui, American Painted Lady, Australian Painted Lady, e...
 in the Family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Nymphalidae
Nymphalidae

The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterfly which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies....
. They are well known throughout most of the world.

The group includes the Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui
Vanessa cardui

The Painted Lady is a well-known colourful butterfly, sometimes known in North America as the Cosmopolitan.It is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica....
), which is almost global in its distribution; Australian Painted Lady
Australian painted lady

Vanessa kershawi, commonly known as the Australian Painted Lady, is a butterfly that is mostly confined to Australia, although westerly winds have dispersed it to islands east of Australia, including New Zealand....
 (Vanessa kershawi); American Painted Lady
American Painted Lady

The American Painted Lady is a butterfly that is found throughout North America.V. virginiensis lives in flowery habitats, usually in mountains....
 (Vanessa virginiensis) and West Coast Lady
West Coast Lady

The West Coast Lady is one of three North American species of Nymphalidae butterflies known colloquially as the "painted ladies". V. annabella occurs throughout much of the western US....
 (Vanessa annabella).

Distinguishing features


For a key to the terms used see Lepidopteran glossary
Glossary of Lepidopteran terms

This glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of lepidopteran species.Like all insects, adult butterflies have three distinctive segments to their bodies, the head, thorax and abdomen....
In general, the Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui

The Painted Lady is a well-known colourful butterfly, sometimes known in North America as the Cosmopolitan.It is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica....
 is a large butterfly (wing span 5-9 cm (2 - 2 7/8 in)) identified by the black and white corners of its mainly deep orange, black-spotted wings. It has 5 white spots in the black forewing tips and while the orange areas may be pale here and there, there are no clean white dots in them. The hindwings carry 4 small submarginal eyespots on dorsal and ventral sides. Those on the dorsal side are black, but in the summer morph sometimes small blue pupils are present in some.

The American Painted Lady
American Painted Lady

The American Painted Lady is a butterfly that is found throughout North America.V. virginiensis lives in flowery habitats, usually in mountains....
 (V. virginiensis) is most easily distinguishable by its two large hindwing eyespots on the ventral side. virginiensis also features a white dot within the subapical field of the forewings set in pink on the ventral side, and often as a smaller clean white dot in the orange of the dorsal side too. A less reliable indicator is the row of eyespots on the dorsal submarginal hindwing; virginiensis often has two larger outer spots with blue pupils. The black forewing tips have 4-5 white spots, usually the largest is whitish orange.

The West Coast Lady
West Coast Lady

The West Coast Lady is one of three North American species of Nymphalidae butterflies known colloquially as the "painted ladies". V. annabella occurs throughout much of the western US....
 (V. annabella) does not have obvious ventral eyespots. On the dorsal side, anabella lacks a white dot in the subapical orange found in virginiensis, and is a purer orange color. annabella has a fully orange subapical band and leading edge on the forewing. The submarginal row of hindwing spots in annabella features three or four blue pupils. The two larger pupils in annabella are the inner spots, rather than the outer spots as in corresponding virginiensis.

The Australian Painted Lady
Australian painted lady

Vanessa kershawi, commonly known as the Australian Painted Lady, is a butterfly that is mostly confined to Australia, although westerly winds have dispersed it to islands east of Australia, including New Zealand....
 (V. kershawi) is quite similar to V. cardui. Its four ventral eyespots are less clearly defined, and it always sports at least three (often four) blue pupil spots on its dorsal hindwing. Caterpillars are found mainly on Ammobium alatum
Ammobium alatum

Ammobium alatum is a perennial Asteraceae native to Eastern Australia, and is the only member of the genus Ammobium.The flowers are small and have white petals with a yellow centre, they can be dried....
.