Attract Painted Lady butterflies with lupine

FALLBROOK – The Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, is the most widespread butterfly on the planet, occupying all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Its name means "Butterfly of Thistle" and its global abundance is most likely due to its larvae feeding on such a wide variety of plants. The Painted Lady feeds on over three hundred different host plants.

The Painted Lady is one of the types of butterflies that does not follow a seasonal migration pattern; some scientific evidence points to the migration being affected by the patterns of the El Niño, but for the most part, these butterflies migrate solely for the purpose of finding host plants and nectar sources.

In North America, the Painted Lady is seen migrating in the north-western direction, and there will occasionally be a second migration back southward seen in late August. Like the monarch butterfly, the Painted Lady goes through many generations over the course of its migration. By the time the butterflies have made a full migration from Mexico to Canada and back, they have cycled through about six generations of butterflies!

Sometimes while migrating, these butterflies fly only 6-12 feet off the ground and migrate in large groups, so spotting them is very easy. At other times, these butterflies will migrate at large altitudes, making it seem like they magically appear when they arrive in the new region.

The Painted Lady flies through the continent every year in search of host plants to feed on. Some of the common host plants for the Painted Lady include the Desert Globe Mallow, Pearly Everlasting, Silver Wormwood, Suisun Thistle, Desert Thistle, Douglas' Fiddleneck, Sky Lupine, Arroyo Lupine and Miniature Lupine.

Painted Ladies breed year-round as long as the climate is permitting.

If the temperatures drop too low, the butterflies will not mate. After the male and female Painted Ladies have mated, the female will lay a few hundred pale blue-green eggs on the host plant of her choice. The Painted Ladies undergo a complete metamorphosis.

After the egg is laid, a tiny caterpillar will emerge in three to five days. The caterpillars are yellow and brownish-black striped and are notably spiny. The color can vary greatly during the different stages of the larvae. The larvae will begin feeding and continue to feed for around two to three weeks until they reach about an inch and a half long.

During this time period, it is common that they will molt, or shed their exoskeleton, up to five times. Then, the larvae will form itself into a pale brown chrysalis. The chrysalis is pale brown with small orange protrusions down the middle. After around 10 days, the larvae will emerge from its chrysalis as an adult butterfly.

The adult butterfly is sometimes mistaken for the monarch; however, they are very different when observed at a standstill. The adult Painted Lady is marked predominantly with orange and black splotches and contains black tipped wings with white dots. On the outside, the wings are marked with very noticeable eyespots.

To learn more about the Painted Lady, email [email protected] or call 760-908-7454. Be sure to visit the seminar Saturday, Feb. 20, at 2 p.m. at the Fallbrook Community Gardens where they will be highlighting the Painted Lady and one of its host plants, lupines.

To purchase tickets, contact Wings of Change. In addition, a variety of lupine seeds will be available for sale on their website, http://www.wingsofchange.us, to help attract the Painted Lady to one's home or area.

Submitted by Wings of Change.