Painted Lady

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The painted lady is a delicately patterned butterfly found nearly worldwide. It migrates to Missouri in spring. There are several broods.

Donna Brunet

Other Common Name:

Cosmopolitan

Family:

Nymphalidae (brushfooted butterflies)

Description:

Adult: Like the American lady (V. virginiensis), this is an orange and black butterfly with white spots on the dark forewing tips and white cobwebbing on the brown undersides of the hindwings. Painted ladies have 4 small eyespots on the underside of the hindwing. Seen from above, the wide dark median forewing band, which is broken into two parts, has a heavy connecting bar. The spots on the hindwing are well separated and all about the same size.

Larvae are greenish yellow to lavender, with yellowish spines and a yellow stripe on the sides.

Similar species: The American lady (V. virginiensis) is very similar; the easiest way to tell them apart is the eyespots on the underside of the hindwing: the painted lady has 4 small ones, the American lady has 2 large ones.

Key Identifiers:

Underside of wings:

Brown with white cobwebby pattern
Hindwing has 4 small eyespots.

From above:

Orange and black
Forewing tips dark with white spots
Oblong spot along forewing leading edge is always white (never orange)
Hindwing spots are well separated, all about the same size
The two portions of the forewing median band are connected by a heavy dark bar.

Also:

Forewing outer edge is fairly rounded, not very concave or "notched."

Size:

Wingspan: 1¾–2½ inches.

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Painted Lady

The painted lady survives winters in northern Mexico, then travels great distances as it repopulates most of the United States and Canada.

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Painted Lady

Painted lady ID: seen from above, the wide dark median forewing band, which is broken into two parts, has a heavy connecting bar. The spots on the hindwing are well separated and all about the same size.

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Photo of painted lady, side view, showing underside of wings

Painted Lady Butterfly, Side View

The easiest way to separate our two "painted ladies" is to look at the eyespots on the hindwing underside: the painted lady (shown) has 4 small ones, while the American lady has 2 large ones.

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Painted Lady Caterpillar

Painted lady caterpillars are greenish yellow to lavender, with yellowish spines and a yellow stripe on the sides. They construct silk shelters on the leaves of host plants that protect them as they chew. Their favorite food plants are thistles.

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Photo of chrysalis of painted lady butterfly

Painted Lady Chrysalis

With painted ladies so common and widespread, they are a favorite species for schoolchildren to witness the process of larval growth and metamorphosis.

Painted Lady in Desoto

An orange and black butterfly percked on a pink flower. It's wings are spread, and four black dots are visible on the hind wing. Its body looks hairy.

Painted Lady butterfly

User submitted photo

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Photo of a painted lady on a coneflower central disk, side view, wings folded

Painted Lady Butterfly

The painted lady butterfly is found worldwide, with the exception of South America and Antarctica. It occurs in nearly any kind of open habitat.

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Photo of two painted lady butterflies taking nectar from a coneflower

Painted Ladies Nectaring on Coneflower

Painted ladies avidly visit flowers for nectar. Increasing a female’s sugar consumption increases her longevity and the total number of eggs she lays.

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Painted Lady

The painted lady and its close relatives, the American lady and red admiral, are migratory, much like the monarch.

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Photo of New England aster flowers with a painted lady butterfly

New England Aster and Painted Lady

Many types of bees, flies, butterflies, and skippers visit the flowers of New England aster. Cross-pollination by insects is necessary in order for the seeds to be viable.

Habitat and conservation:

This butterfly is found worldwide, with the exception of South America and Antarctica. It occurs in nearly any kind of open habitat.

Foods:

Caterpillars construct a silk nest on the leaves of their host plants, which shelters them as they chew. They prefer thistle (Circium) leaves but use over 100 species of nonwoody plants, frequently in the sunflower family but also other plant families. The ability of the caterpillars to feed on a wide variety of plants is one factor in the nearly worldwide range of this species. The adults feed on the nectar from a variety of flowers.

Distribution in Missouri:

Statewide.

Status:

Breeding summer resident. This and other species in genus Vanessa (including the American lady and red admiral) are migratory, much like the monarch. The painted lady survives winters in northern Mexico, then travels great distances as it repopulates most of the United States and Canada.

Life cycle:

Painted ladies arrive from the south in late March and fly until November. There are multiple broods. They frequently lay eggs on host plants within patches of nectar flowers even if those plants don’t provide for optimal caterpillar growth. Increasing a female’s sugar consumption increases her longevity and the total number of eggs she lays. Painted ladies lay a large number of small eggs in a lifetime, opting for quantity over quality.

Human connections:

The commonness and abundance of this butterfly makes it an excellent subject for biological investigation. Schoolchildren witness the process of larval growth and metamorphosis. Professional biologists study the migration patterns and mating behaviors.

Ecosystem connections:

The caterpillars are herbivores that graze on vegetation. The adults serve a role in pollination. All stages provide food for predators. In years when the populations of this species are especially large, the larvae serve as a check on thistle populations.