Butterflies of the World - Lifecycle, Ecology, Taxonomy, Conservation, Photography, Butterfly Holidays, Photo Galleries, Book Reviews and more.........
Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007, and must not be published in part or in whole elsewhere without prior written permission from the author.
Butterflies of Britain & Europe
 
Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui LINNAEUS, 1758
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily - NYMPHALINAE
Tribe - NYMPHALINI
 
 introduction | habitats | lifecycle | adult behaviour
 
Painted Lady Vanessa cardui, Old Winchester Hill NNR, Hampshire, England
 
Painted Lady Vanessa cardui, female, Hampshire, England
 
Introduction
 
The Painted Lady is the most widely distributed butterfly in the world, found in North America, and south to the Caribbean islands and Venezuela. In the Old World it occurs throughout Europe and temperate Asia, over most of Africa, Madagascar, the Azores, the Canary Islands, the Arab states, and throughout the Indian subcontinent including Sri Lanka. In the Far East it occurs in Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra - and extends it's range south through the Indonesian islands to Western Australia.
 
The cosmopolitan distribution of the butterfly is caused by a combination of it's very strong migratory behaviour and polyphagous nature - in Britain the larvae feed almost exclusively on thistles, but elsewhere in the butterfly's range they utilise a vast range of larval foodplants amongst the Compositae, Boraginaceae, Malvaceae, Ulmaceae, Rutaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Labiatae, Hydrophyllaceea, Leguminosae, Urticaceae, Verbenaceae, Rosaceae, Convolvulaceae, Plantaginaceae, Cruciferae, Umbelliferae, Cucurbitaceae, Rhamnaceae, and even one or two grass species !
 

The American Painted Lady Vanessa virginiensis, native to North America, Central America and the Canary Islands, occurs as an extremely rare migrant in Britain. It differs from cardui by having a row of conspicuous blue-centred ocelli on the upperside hindwings, and a pair of large ocelli in the outer area of the underside hindwings.
 
Habitats
 
In Britain the Painted Lady occurs as a migrant originating from North Africa or southern Europe. Being an extremely mobile species, it can turn up in any almost any habitat - from woodland, grassland, heaths, meadows and cliff-tops, to urban gardens, city parks, and town centres.
 
Migrants arriving in May often assemble at hilltop sites in southern England, but soon disperse inland, and can reach northern Scotland by June. Eggs laid in May will produce a second brood of adults in August, which also migrate northwards and reach Scotland in early September. There does not appear to be any evidence of a southward return migration, but occasional records of Painted Ladies in January appear to indicate that the butterflies attempt to hibernate at certain sites on the south coast, although they do not seem able to survive the frosts of February.
 
The numbers arriving in Britain in the spring depends very much on weather conditions in continental Europe. A hot spring in the Mediterranean, followed by hot southerly winds, can bring thousands of Painted Ladies into Britain, and in a warm summer there can be a substantial U.K. bred generation. When climatic conditions in Europe are less than optimal however, immigration into Britain can be insignificant, and the species may fail to produce a summer brood entirely.
 
Lifecycle
 

In Britain the pale green eggs are nearly always laid on spear thistle Cirsium vulgare, creeping thistle C. arvense, or welted thistle Carduus acanthoides, but there are occasional records of nettle Urtica dioica or greater burdock Arctium lappa being used.

 

The eggs are laid singly on the upper surface of terminal leaves, and hatch after about a week.

 

The young larvae spin a fine silk web on the underside of the thistle leaf, and feed on the lower cuticle, leaving distinctive patches visible on the upper surface. When older, they eat the entire leaf, with the exception of the central vein and the spines.

 

The fully grown larva is blackish, with a prominent yellow broken stripe along each side. It lives and feeds within a tent of leaves spun together with silk. These silk tents, in which the conspicuous droppings are enmeshed, make the larvae easy to find.

 

In early July the larva spins together a new tent of leaves, within which it pupates. The chrysalis is greyish pink, with an overall golden lustre.

 

Adult behaviour

 

On overcast days, the butterflies often spend long periods basking in rabbit scrapes or other depressions on the ground, and are frequently seen basking on patches of bare chalk.

 

 

Painted Lady Vanessa cardui, nectaring at knapweed, Havant Thicket, Hampshire, England

 

Males establish small territories at ride intersections within woodland, or in sheltered dry gullies, chalk pits, or around field edges where they are sheltered by hedgerows. I have also commonly found them aggregating at hilltop sites e.g. at Old Winchester Hill NNR, and Noar Hill, both in Hampshire. They generally have about 4 or 5 spots within their territories where they regularly bask.

 

The butterflies are powerful flyers, and habitually fly from flower to flower, stopping for a few seconds at each to take nectar. They visit a wide range of wild flowers including marjoram, knapweeds, thistles, burdock, hemp agrimony, fleabane, devil's bit scabious, and bramble blossom; and in gardens will nectar at buddleia, michaelmas daisies, sedum and many other cultivated flowers.

 
Painted Lady Vanessa cardui, male, Hampshire, England
 
                                                       
Almost every British and European species of butterfly is declining rapidly in numbers, due in most cases to loss or degradation of habitats.
 
You can help to reverse the decline by supporting conservation organisations which purchase and manage habitats as nature reserves, and which lobby government at local, national and international levels, often very successfully, to bring about changes in farming, forestry and urban development policies.
 
Please contact the conservation organisations for advice on how you can help protect British and European butterflies and their habitats. You may be able to offer practical help e.g. by monitoring butterfly populations or helping to manage nature reserves. Donations to these organisations enable them to employ ecologists and biologists. Even if you are unable to provide such help, merely having your name on the membership list can be a powerful tool for conservation organisations wishing to demonstrate the levels of support they have for their policies.

 

 
 
Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007-2008, and must not be reproduced or published in part or in whole elsewhere in any form without written permission from Adrian Hoskins. Breach of copyright will be pursued by litigation.
 
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