Australian painted lady significantly affected by these changes. It has been found to use some species of carduine thistles, which are invasive to Australia, as host plants in New South Wales. Australian painted ladies use the plants as hosts during their larval stage, and as food sources. However, they inflict little damage to the plant. 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
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