Royalty-free images by Mike1 — No. 98 of over 1200 images
American Lady Butterfly on Purple Coneflower, West-Central Arkansas, June 28, 2007
This image was taken on our property in west-central Arkansas.
American lady2
The American painted lady or American lady (Vanessa virginiensis) is a butterfly found throughout North America.
The larvae feed on various Asteraceae, such as the cudweeds (genus Gnaphalium), the pussytoes (Antennaria), and the everlastings (Anaphalis), which all belong to tribe Gnaphalieae. All stages of the life cycle can be found throughout temperate North America as well as Madeira and the Canary Islands. Occasionally individuals can be found as far as southwest Europe. It has been introduced to Hawaii where it is one of four Vanessa species.
Vanessa virginiensis is most easily distinguishable by its two large eyespots on the ventral side, whereas V. cardui has four small eyespots and V. annabella 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.
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- American lady – Wikipedia
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