| Painted Lady (Cynthia cardui (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
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Scientific name: Cynthia cardui (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Painted Lady French name: Belle Dame Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Rhopalocera Family: Nymphalidae Subfamily: Nymphalinae Wingspan: 50-60 mm. Biotope: Meadows and grasslands, up to an altitude of 2500m. Geographic area: Worldwide except South America. Flight time: Dependant of the location. May to November in the Paris area. Number of generations : 2 Caterpillar: Black with a yellow ventral line and yellow spines on the back. Host plant: Nettle (Urtica), Thistle, Mallow. |
The upper side of the Painted Lady's wings is yellowish-brown with various darker marks. The upper side of the fore wings' apex is black with white spots. The underside of the wings is paler. There are 5 eye-spots under the hindwing. Both sexes are similar. The painted lady is a migratory butterfly. It over winters in the Mediterranean area or in Northern Africa. The Painted Ladies migrate northward to Europe in Spring and the second generation migrates the other way in Autumn. They can fly at 50 km/h and move almost 1000 km in 24h. |
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2006 was a good year for Painted Ladies observation. However, many of the observed butterflies had damaged wings. 2009 was an exceptional year and we have observed many of this migatory butterfly everywhere in France. |
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Many painted Ladies came to feed on the Buddleia in 2009. In 2006 they were accompanied by a migratory moth, also coming from the south, the Hummingbird Hawk-moth. This was not the case in 2009, I haven't seen any Hummingbird Hawk-moth in my garden during summer. |
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A small tour of the Internet forums in 2009 has shown me that there were plenty of painted Ladies everywhere in France. |
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Here is a view of the underside of the wings. Only one lavender plant in a garden allows the observation of many species. |
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Another view of the underside of the wings. |
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A picture of a Painted Lady to remember my holidays on the "Ile d'Oléron"". |
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This Painted Lady came and landed on pyracantha flowers. |
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Close-up view on a Painted Lady (but this picture is a crop …) |
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Painted Lady on Wild Teasel. |
André Bon July 2021