American Painted Lady

American Painted Lady
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Vanessa
Subgenus:	Cynthia
Species:	V. (C.) virginiensis
Binomial name
Vanessa (Cynthia) virginiensis (Drury, 1773)
Synonyms
Nymphalis cardui virginiensis Drury, 1773

The American Painted Lady or American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)^[1] is a butterfly found throughout North America.

Vanessa virginiensis lives in flowery habitats, usually in mountains. The larvae feed on various Asteraceae, especially the cudweeds of genus Gnaphalium. All stages of the life cycle can be found throughout temperate North America as well as Madeira and the Canary Islands. Occasionally individuals can be found as far as south-west Europe.

Description

Vanessa virginiensis is most easily distinguishable by its two large eyespots on the ventral side, whereas V. cardui has four small eyespots and V. annabella has none. V. virginiensis also uniquely features a white dot within the forewing subapical field, set in pink on the underside and usually also in the dorsal side's orange field.

The largest spot in the black forewing tips is white in V. cardui, pale orange in this species, and orange in the West Coast species. The latter also has a purer orange background color of the dorsal side, as opposed to the darker and (especially in V. virginiensis) redder hue of the other two.

A less reliable indicator is the row of black eyespots on the dorsal submarginal hindwing. In the American Painted Lady, those on the opposite ends of the row are often larger and have blue "pupils". In V. annabella, this applies to the inner two spots, while in V. cardui some of the black eyespots may have tiny blue pupils in the summer morph, but usually have none at all, and the eyespots themselves are all roughly the same size. The size of the wings are about 5 cm (2 in) across.

Distinguishing features

See Painted Lady

Gallery

• 

  Nectaring on red clover.

• 

  Some individuals lack the additional white subapical forewing spot.

• 

  Ventral side.

• 

  Adult resting on a flower

References

1. ^ Marrku Savela's Website on Lepidoptera on Vanessa genus.

• Riley, N.D. and Higgens, L.G. 1970. A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Europe. Collins, Great Britain. [ISBN 0-00-212028-3]
• Painted Lady, Butterflies of Canada

External links

• American lady on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
• American Lady, Butterflies of Canada

This Nymphalinae article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Vanessa Butterflies and moths of North America Butterflies of the United States Butterflies of Canada Animals described in 1773 Nymphalinae stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу Both Sides Now (song) East Asian - Australasian Flyway Look at other dictionaries: American painted lady — noun The butterfly Vanessa virginiensis …   Wiktionary Painted Lady (disambiguation) — Painted Lady can refer to:*Painted Lady, a type of butterfly found in Europe and Asia *American Painted Lady, a butterfly that is found throughout North America *Australian Painted Lady, a butterfly that is mostly confined to Australia *Painted… …   Wikipedia Painted Lady — For other uses, see Painted Lady (disambiguation). Cynthia (subgenus) Vanessa cardui Conservation status …   Wikipedia painted lady — a butterfly, Vanessa cardui, having brownish black and orange wings and hind wings each with four eyespots, the larvae of which feed on thistles. [1745 55] * * * Either of two species of butterflies in the genus Vanessa (family Nymphalidae): V.… …   Universalium Painted lady — Painted Paint ed, a. 1. Covered or adorned with paint; portrayed in colors. [1913 Webster] As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. Coleridge. [1913 Webster] 2. (Nat. Hist.) Marked with bright colors; as, the painted turtle; painted… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English painted lady — Thistle This tle, n. [OE. thistil, AS. [thorn]istel; akin to D. & G. distel, OHG. distila, distil, Icel. [thorn]istill, Sw. tistel, Dan. tidsel; of uncertain origin.] (Bot.) Any one of several prickly composite plants, especially those of the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English Painted — may refer to objects that have been coated with paint. It may also be used metaphorically for colourful or strikingly coloured , or have other meanings, as in the names of:Animals and plantsWild birds* Painted Bunting, Passerina ciris , in the… …   Wikipedia Painted — Paint ed, a. 1. Covered or adorned with paint; portrayed in colors. [1913 Webster] As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. Coleridge. [1913 Webster] 2. (Nat. Hist.) Marked with bright colors; as, the painted turtle; painted bunting. [1913 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English Painted beauty — Painted Paint ed, a. 1. Covered or adorned with paint; portrayed in colors. [1913 Webster] As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. Coleridge. [1913 Webster] 2. (Nat. Hist.) Marked with bright colors; as, the painted turtle; painted… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English Painted cup — Painted Paint ed, a. 1. Covered or adorned with paint; portrayed in colors. [1913 Webster] As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. Coleridge. [1913 Webster] 2. (Nat. Hist.) Marked with bright colors; as, the painted turtle; painted… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”