Vanessa cardui the HOSTS database. The main defense mechanisms of the painted lady butterflies include flight and camouflage. The caterpillars hide in small silk nests on top of leaves from main predators that include wasps, spiders, ants, and birds. "Vanessa cardui" and other painted lady butterflies are bred in schools for educational purposes and used for butterfly releases at hospices, memorial events and weddings. Vanessa cardui Vanessa cardui is a well-known colorful butterfly, known as the painted lady, or in North America as the cosmopolitan. "V. cardui" is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica
Brachycaudus cardui have pinkish blotches on a dark green background. "B. cardui" has a wide distribution in Europe, Asia, North Africa and North America. The primary host of "B. cardui" is plum, cherry, apricot, peach or damson, but during the summer months it moves to a secondary host. This is often a thistle in the genera "Carduus" or "Cirsium" where it is commonly seen on the stems and flowerheads. Alternatively, other plants in the aster family or plants in the borage family (Boraginaceae) may be used as secondary hosts. Winged individuals fly back to the primary hosts in the autumn. Colonies of