Australian painted lady Australian painted lady The Australian painted lady ("Vanessa kershawi") butterfly is mostly confined to Australia, although westerly winds have dispersed it to islands east of Australia, including New Zealand. Debate surrounds the taxonomy of this species. Some believe that the Australian painted lady should be a subspecies of the painted lady ("Vanessa cardui") due to the similarity in lifestyle and behaviour. Furthermore, the painted lady is found around the globe, but Australia is the only location in which it varies enough to be considered a separate species. However, due to the distinct genitalia of the males, and variation in colouration,
Australian painted lady intruding male, away from the perch site. The pair lands and copulates, which can last more than an hour. Observations of the Australian painted lady migration date back to the 1960s. In 1963, a large migration took place in a south-easterly direction from late August to late September. It was characterized by the species becoming suddenly common in certain areas where the it had previously been sparse. That year was noted to have been unusually wet in Australia. This could be a trait shared with "V. cardui", which migrates in Europe during the wet season. The Australian painted lady migrates