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
Vanessa indica orange-red on disc, and across cell proportionately of less extent, and uniform, not getting paler towards the apex of the cell; the upper four spots of the preapical transverse series on the black apical area minute. It is about 5 inches (13 cm) in length. Hindwing: the postdiscal transverse band much narrower and shorter, not extending below vein 1, margined inwardly by a series of broad black subcrescentic marks; the tornal angle with a small patch of violet scales bordered inwardly by a short black transverse line. Underside very much darker than in "V. cardui", the orange red on the