Painted Lady

Description:

commonly called painted ladies, comprises a subgenus of the genus Vanessa in the Family Nymphalidae. They are well known throughout most of the world. In general, the Painted Lady is a large butterfly (wing span 5–9 cm (2.0–3.5 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.

Habitat:

The Painted Lady may be the most widespread butterfly in the world. It also known as the thistle butterfly and the cosmopolitan (because it is so widespread, occurring in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa). This flying insect lives in temperate and some tropical areas.

Notes:

The lifespan of a Painted Lady Butterfly is 2–4 weeks.