Vanessa cardui of the same species, he begins pursuit of her. If the foreign butterfly is a male, the original male will give chase, flying vertically for a few feet before returning to his perch. "V. cardui" establishes territories within areas sheltered by hedgerows. "Vanessa cardui" tend to inhabit sunny, brightly lit, open environments and are often attracted to open areas of flowers and clovers. Adults spend time in small depressions in the ground on overcast days. Larvae feed on Asteraceae species, including "Cirsium", "Carduus", "Centaurea", "Arctium", "Onopordum", "Helianthus", and "Artemisia". The painted lady uses over 300 recorded host plants according to
Urophora cardui 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 from the United Kingdom east to near the Crimea, and from Sweden south to the Mediterranean. The Canada thistle gall fly has been introduced to North America from Europe to control the population of its host plant, Canada, or creeping thistle, which is an invasive, introduced weed in North America. The fly starts life as an egg, about one to thirty of them, laid on the stems of its host plant, the Canada thistle, "Cirsium