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 head is typically brown or black, and the caterpillar grows to about 3 cm. The pupa is brown with darker markings, and four pairs of metallic silver or gold dots. The Australian painted lady belongs to the family Nymphalidae and genus "Vanessa", which compromises 22 species, which are strongly migratory. The Australian painted lady is similar to the near-cosmopolitan painted lady ("V. cardui"), so it considered by some to be a subspecies of that. However, throughout its range, the painted lady does not exhibit much variation, but the male genitalia of the Australian painted lady is distinct from that of