American painted lady American painted lady The American painted lady or American lady ("Vanessa virginiensis") is a butterfly found throughout North America. The larvae feed on various Asteraceae, such as the cudweeds (genus "Gnaphalium"), the pussytoes ("Antennaria"), and the everlastings ("Anaphalis"), which all belong to tribe Gnaphalieae. All stages of the life cycle can be found throughout temperate North America as well as Madeira and the Canary Islands. Occasionally individuals can be found as far as southwest Europe. "Vanessa virginiensis" is most easily distinguishable by its two large eyespots on the ventral side, whereas "V. cardui" has four small eyespots and "V. annabella"
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