Australian painted lady Within Australia, the Australian painted lady is commonly found throughout southern Australia, below the Tropic of Capricorn. It is uncommon to find this butterfly in Queensland, and it is completely absent from the far north of the country, in the tropical rainforests. Although it is most common in Australia, it has also become common throughout New Zealand following periodic migrations across the sea, from Australia. Since the butterflies do not reproduce or overwinter in New Zealand, they are only considered an established species in Australia. Within its range, it is found in urban areas. The life cycle of the Australian
West Coast lady West Coast lady The West Coast lady ("Vanessa annabella") is one of three North American species of brush-footed butterflies known colloquially as the "painted ladies". "V. annabella" occurs throughout much of the western US and southwestern Canada. The other two species are the cosmopolitan "Vanessa cardui" (painted lady) and the eastern "Vanessa virginiensis" (American painted lady). This species has also been considered a subspecies of the South American, "Vanessa carye", and is frequently misspelled as "anabella". Aside from general differences in distribution, "V. annabella" can be distinguished from the other two painted ladies of North America as follows: Most conspicuously,