Painted lady as in corresponding "V. virginiensis". The Australian painted lady ("V. kershawi") is quite similar to "V. cardui". Its four ventral eyespots are less clearly defined, and it always sports at least three (often four) blue pupil spots on its dorsal hindwing. Caterpillars are found mainly on "Ammobium alatum". The lifespan of a painted lady butterfly is two to four weeks. The species undergoes complete metamorphosis which has recently been investigated using microtomography. Painted lady The Cynthia group of colourful butterflies, commonly called painted ladies, comprises a subgenus of the genus "Vanessa" in the family Nymphalidae. They are well known throughout
Australian painted lady the painted lady, which suggests that it is a separate species. The Australian species' four ventral eyespots are less clearly defined, and it always sports at least three (often four) conspicuous blue pupil spots on each dorsal hindwings' eyespots. "V. cardui" has either a few tiny pupil spots, or more often, none at all. The Australian painted and the painted lady have very similar lifestyles and behaviours, but the Australian painted lady lives in an arid and stressful environment. Australian painted lady colouration could be induced in painted lady butterflies by injecting the larvae with stress-inducing hormones and subjecting them