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,
Painted lady with blue pupils. The black forewing tips have four to five white spots; usually the largest is whitish orange. The West Coast lady ("V. annabella") does not have obvious ventral eyespots. On the dorsal side, "V. anabella" lacks a white dot in the subapical orange found in "V. virginiensis", and is a purer orange color. "V. annabella" has a fully orange subapical band and leading edge on the forewing. The submarginal row of hindwing spots in "V. annabella" features three or four blue pupils. The two larger pupils in "V. annabella" are the inner spots, rather than the outer spots