Vanessa cardui of the sky, implying the use of a solar compass to orient its migratory direction and maintain a straight flight path. "V. cardui" displays a unique system of continuous mating, throughout all seasons, including the winter. This may be attributed to its migratory patterns, thus significantly affecting its mating behavior. During European migrations, the butterflies immediately begin to mate and lay eggs upon arrival in the Mediterranean in the spring, starting in late May. In the United States, painted lady butterflies migrating towards the north experience poor mating conditions, and many butterflies have limited breeding capabilities. The "local adult generation"
American painted lady has none. "V. virginiensis" also uniquely features a white dot within the forewing subapical field, set in pink on the underside and usually also in the dorsal side's orange field. The largest spot in the black forewing tips is white in "V. cardui", pale orange in this species, and orange in the West Coast species. The latter also has a purer orange background color of the dorsal side, as opposed to the darker and (especially in "V. virginiensis") redder hue of the other two. A less reliable indicator is the row of black eyespots on the dorsal submarginal hindwing. In