Painted lady 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 most of the world. The group includes: The painted lady ("V. cardui") is a large butterfly (wing span ) identified by the black and white corners of its mainly deep orange, black-spotted wings. It has five white spots in the black forewing tips and while the orange areas may be pale here and there, there are no clean white dots in them. The hindwings carry four small submarginal eyespots on the dorsal
Urophora cardui arvense", during the host's growing season. After hatching, the larvae burrow into the stem of the plant and form a gall (or swelling). During maturing, the larva will be 98% of its full body weight, and appear as an adult. The larvae pupate in early spring for 24 to 35 days, and appear reddish brown, but are still inside the gall. The fly goes through a tunnel formed in the gall during June to October. Urophora cardui Urophora cardui or the Canada thistle gall fly is a fruit fly which, contrary to its common name, is indigenous to Central Europe