Painted lady

The painted lady may be the most widespread butterfly on Earth, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America. Orange, black, and white above, it is a familiar visitor to gardens across North America, sometimes arriving in great migratory waves.

In some years painted ladies stream north from the deserts of the Southwest in enormous numbers, a mass migration that can carry them thousands of miles and fill gardens overnight.

Caterpillars feed on a wide range of plants, favoring thistles but also mallows and legumes, building loose silk nests among the leaves.

Adults nectar readily at many flowers. A sunny bed of asters, coneflowers, and other composites will keep them fed; the plants below carry documented painted lady records.