Stats

Lifespan: A few weeks
Size: Medium
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: Worldwide
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

The Painted Lady is one of the most widely distributed butterflies on Earth, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America; it undertakes mass migrations of up to 9,000 miles from sub-Saharan Africa to the Arctic Circle.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
2.
caterpillar
A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
3.
chrysalis
A chrysalis hangs sealed and still while the body remodels into a winged adult.
4.
butterfly
A winged adult with full scales and coloration, ready to fly and mate.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Vanessa
Species: Vanessa cardui