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
Vanessa atalanta Vanessa atalanta Vanessa atalanta, the red admiral or previously, the red admirable, is a well-characterized, medium-sized butterfly with black wings, orange bands, and white spots. It has a wingspan of about . It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of "Systema Naturae". The red admiral is widely distributed across temperate regions of North Africa, the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. It resides in warmer areas, but migrates north in spring and sometimes again in autumn. Typically found in moist woodlands, the red admiral caterpillar's primary host plant is the stinging nettle ("Urtica dioica"); it