Wonders of Wildlife: Painted Lady

Painted Lady

Scientific Name: Vanessa cardui

Found in Alabama: Mostly statewide

Diet: Herbivore (eats plants)

Painted Lady on Flower
Wikimedia – Alvesgaspar

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Classification

IDENTIFICATION

Adaptations

Life Cycle

Habitat Needs

Ecological Role

CLASSIFICATION

Scientists use basic traits to
group animals into different taxonomic
classes.

For a taxonomic classification chart comparing key traits of common backyard wildlife,
CLICK HERE!

What type of animal am I?

I am an invertebrate (an animal without a spine or backbone).
I am cold-blooded, so I cannot control my body temperature.
I have a stiff covering on the outside of my body called an exoskeleton.
I breathe through small holes in my abdomen called spiracles.
I have six legs.
I have wings.

The Painted Lady is an INSECT!

IDENTIFICATION TIPS

Wingspan ranges from 2 – 2.75 inches
Overall pinkish-orange or orange-brown in color
White bar on front wings
Hind wings have a row of 5 tiny black dots
Brown, black, and gray coloration on underside of wings
4-5 small eyespots on underside of hind wing

Painted Lady Butterfly
Wikimedia – Jean-Pol GRANDMONT

EGGS

About the size of a pinhead and
barrel-shaped
Pale green in color with vertical ridges

Painted Lady Egg
Wikimedia – Harald Süpfle

CATERPILLAR LARVAE

Grayish brown and darker at both ends
with yellow stripe running down back
and sides
Rows of light colored, branched spines

Painted Lady Caterpillar
flickr – Dean Morley

CHRYSALIS

Mostly beige
Many yellow pointed bumps

Painted Lady Chrysalis
flickr – Dean Morley

PHYSICAL AND BEHAVIORAL ADAPTATIONS

PHYSICAL ADAPTATIONS

Painted Ladies use camouflage to hide from predators:

The mottled orangish-brown coloration of painted ladies allows them to camouflage (easily blend in with their surroundings).
This makes them difficult to be spotted by predators (animals that eat them).

Butterflies have long straw-like mouthparts to collect nectar from flowers:

All butterflies and moths, including monarchs, have a long straw-shaped mouthpart (similar to a tongue) called a proboscis to collect nectar from flowers.
The proboscis has two long tubes (like straws) that soak up the nectar deep inside the flower, and then the nectar travels up through the tubes for the butterfly to drink it.
When the proboscis is not in use, it curls up tightly against the front of the head of the butterfly.
To see how a proboscis works and to learn why scientists are studying the proboscis, watch Science Nation’s 3-minute video.

Painted Lady Butterfly
flickr – Dean Morley

Butterflies have compound eyes:

Butterfly vision is completely different than human vision.
While humans have the ability to focus on something far away and can see fine details, a butterfly’s vision appears blurry to them because they have compound eyes (many individual lenses that combine to form one image).
Butterflies have special structures that allow them to see different types of light than humans, helping them locate flowers and communicate with each other.
They are also able to see a more wide view around them rather than just in front of them, allowing them to detect and escape any threats.

BEHAVIORAL ADAPTATIONS

Painted Ladies are diurnal:

They are active during the day (diurnal).

Painted Ladies migrate:

Painted lady butterflies migrate (move in large groups from one location to another) from Mexico to the northern United States and Canada.
This allows them to escape extreme temperatures and use a variety of resources.
They begin moving north in March or April and lay eggs along the way, usually in May and June.
They cannot tolerate freezing temperatures, so they begin moving back south toward Mexico starting in late August.
They continue to reproduce and lay eggs until around September or October.
During migration, they are known to use higher altitude winds to help carry them greater distances.

LIFE CYCLE

Stages of a Painted Lady’s Life Cycle

Metamorphosis is the process of physical change that some animals go through as they transform from a larvae into an adult.

To view the US Fish and Wildlife Service video of a monarch caterpillar changing into its chrysalis form,
CLICK HERE!

Four Life Cycle Stages of the Painted Lady Butterfly

Stage 1: Egg

Females lay a single hard-shelled egg on leaves of the plants in the Daisy family.
Females lay up to 500 eggs, one at a time.
After 3-5 days, a tiny caterpillar (larvae) hatches from its egg.

Stage 2: Larvae

The baby caterpillar spends 5-10 days eating the leaves of the host plant on which it was laid.
They build a loosely woven silk tent around themselves while feeding on the leaves.
When it becomes too large for its skin, it molts (sheds its skin).
The intervals between molts are called instars.

Stage 3: Pupa

- When it is fully grown, the caterpillar hangs upside down in a J-shape, its skin splits, and beige chrysalis (butterfly pupa enclosed in a protective covering) forms.
- Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis (physical change from larva to adults) in about 7-10 days

Stage 4: Adult

The adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, and then waits to allow its wings to inflate and dry before it flies away.

Lifespan

Usually, adult butterflies live for about 2 weeks.
After migrating back to Texas, the last generation of adults overwinters there.

HABITAT NEEDS

Natural Habitat Needs	Adults	Young
Food	Adults feed on nectar from native wildflowers. They prefer plants that are 3′ – 6′ tall such as blazing star, aster, cosmos, ironweed, and joe pye weed. They will also drink the nectar from red clover, milkweed, buttonbush, and thistles.	The caterpillars feed only on leaves from plants in the Daisy family, their host plant.
Water	Butterflies will obtain hydration from nectar. They will also drink from puddles draining sand.	The young obtain hydration from the leaves and stems on which they feed.
Shelter	They are adaptable and will inhabit a variety of habitats. They prefer open areas like praries, fields, and gardens. They will also inhabit swamps, bogs, marshes, deserts, forests, and rain forests.	Eggs are deposited leaves of plants in the Daisy family. Caterpillars remain on the milkweed plant until metamorphosis (physical change from larva to adult). Chrysalises (butterfly pupa enclosed in a protective covering) hang from well-covered areas within plants.
Places to Raise Young	Lay eggs on plants in the Daisy family such as asters, dandelions, and thistles. These are host plants. Adults do not raise the young. The host plants provide a food source for the caterpillars as soon as they hatch.

If you want to offer resources in your backyard habitat for this species, consider the suggestions below.

Backyard Habitat Needs	Adults	Young
Food	Plant tall nectar producing plants such as asters, cosmos, blazing star, ironweed, joe pye weed, red clover, buttonbush, thistles, and milkeweed.	Plant or garden with plants in the Daisy family, the host plant. Plants include thistles, dwarf nettle, asters, and dandelion.
Water	Plant or garden with nectar-producing plants. Add shallow puddling stations.
Shelter	Plant native plants or shrubs that provide a good amount of leaves where they can take shelter.
Places to Raise Young	Plant or garden with plants in the Daisy family, the host plants. Include thistles, asters, dwarf nettle, dahlias, and coneflower.

ECOLOGICAL ROLE

Animals play an important ecological role in the health of habitats and ecosystems.

Food Source:

Painted lady butterflies are commonly eaten by birds, bats, ants, wasps, and spiders.

Pollinator:

Adult painted lady butterflies serve as pollinators (animals that move pollen, the powdery yellow substance found in flowers, from one plant to another) for native wildflowers by transferring pollen among flowers while they are foraging (searching) for nectar.

Indicator Species:

Painted lady butterflies are sensitive to changes in the environment.
The presence of painted lady butterflies can be a sign of a healthy ecosystem.
A change or reduction in the number of butterflies can indicate a change in the environment.

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