American lady

American painted lady

Secure  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Vanessa
Species:
V. virginiensis
Binomial name
Vanessa virginiensis
(Drury, 1773)
Synonyms
  • Nymphalis cardui virginiensis Drury, 1773
  • Papilio huntera Fabricius, 1775

The American painted lady or American lady (Vanessa virginiensis)[3] is a butterfly found throughout North America.

The larvae feed on various Asteraceae, such as the cudweeds (genus Gnaphalium), the pussytoes (Antennaria), and the everlastings (Anaphalis), which all belong to tribe Gnaphalieae.[4] 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 southwest Europe. It has been introduced to Hawaii where it is one of four Vanessa species.[5]

  1. ^ Walker, A. (2020). "Vanessa virginiensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T161254A882795. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T161254A882795.en. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  2. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 Vanessa virginiensis American Lady". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Vanessa Fabricius, 1807" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  4. ^ "Species Vanessa virginiensis - American Lady - Hodges#4434". BugGuide.
  5. ^ "Common Look-alikes". Pulelehua Project. University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Retrieved 31 August 2020.