Vanessa cardui 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 and South America. In Australia, "V. cardui" has a limited range around Bunbury, Fremantle, and Rottnest Island. However, its close relative, the Australian painted lady ("V. kershawi", sometimes considered a subspecies) ranges over half the continent. Other closely related species are the American painted lady ("V. virginiensis") and the West Coast lady ("V. annabella"). "V. cardui" occurs in any temperate zone, including
Brachycaudus cardui viral disease affecting plums, damsons, peaches, apricots and some other plants. Brachycaudus cardui Brachycaudus cardui is a species of aphid, commonly known as the thistle aphid or the plum-thistle aphid. It infests trees in the genus "Prunus" in the spring and autumn, and mostly plants in the aster family in the summer. The viviparous wingless females of "B. cardui" have an oval or pear-shaped body and grow to a length of from . The colour may be green, yellowish, reddish or brown. The abdomen has a dark, shining patch on the dorsal surface, a fact which distinguishes this species from