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Painted Lady

Vanessa cardui[4]

The painted lady is an orange-and-black butterfly with white-spotted wingtips that migrates north each spring and some years appears in huge numbers; its spiny caterpillars chew and web the leaves of thistles and many other plants.[1][2][3]

Group
Insect
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Nymphalidae
US records
49 states
Sources
4 cited
Updated
2026-10-16
Painted lady butterfly with orange and black wings and white-spotted tips
Painted lady butterfly with orange and black wings and white-spotted tips. Photo: Brighton Lee, public domain (CC0), via iNaturalist
On this page
  1. Identification
  2. Look-alikes
  3. Where it lives
  4. Biology
  5. Damage and signs
  6. Health risk
  7. Control
  8. Related profiles
  9. Common questions
  10. Sources

How to identify it

  • Wingspan is about 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 inches; from above it is orange and black with dark wingtips spotted white.[1]
  • The brown underside has a white cobweb pattern and four small eyespots on each hindwing.[1]
  • Caterpillars are spiny, brown-black to greenish yellow or lavender with yellow markings, and often hide in a silk-tied leaf tent.[1][3]

Look-alikes

Look-alikeHow to tell them apart
American ladyVery similar; the American lady has two large eyespots under each hindwing instead of four small ones.[1]
Red admiralBlack with bold orange-red bands rather than mostly orange.[1]

Where it lives

Found nearly worldwide except South America and Antarctica; it arrives in Missouri in late March and flies until November.[1]

US map: public records from 49 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

Adults can't survive cold winters, so they migrate to warmer regions in fall and return in spring, with several generations each summer.[1][2][3]

Numbers swing dramatically: an Iowa survey counted 747 in one September 2017 survey versus 21 the year before.[2]

Caterpillars hatch three to five days after eggs are laid and pupate on or off the host plant.[3]

Damage and signs

  • Caterpillars prefer thistles but feed on many plants, mostly in the aster, mallow, borage and legume families (MDC counts more than 100 species, Utah State over 300), chewing ragged holes and webbing leaves together.[1][3]
  • Damage is usually minor because natural enemies keep numbers low.[3]

Health risk

None to people or pets.[1][2]

Control

Prevention

Plants tolerate low levels of feeding, and no management is usually needed.[3]

Common questions

Why are there so many orange butterflies this fall?
In good years painted ladies build up over summer and gather on fall flowers before migrating south.[2]
What do painted lady caterpillars eat?
Mostly thistles, plus many plants in the aster, mallow and legume families.[1][3]
How do I tell a painted lady from an American lady?
Count the eyespots under the hindwing: four small on the painted lady, two large on the American lady.[1]

Sources

  1. Missouri Department of Conservation, “Painted Lady (Field Guide).” mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/painted-lady (accessed 2026-10-16)
  2. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach (Yard and Garden), “It Was a Very Good Year for Painted Lady Butterflies (September 15, 2017).” yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/article/2017/09/it-was-very-good-year-painted-lady-butterflies (accessed 2026-10-16)
  3. Utah State University Extension (Integrated Pest Management), “Painted Lady (Larvae), Vanessa cardui (hemp pests).” extension.usu.edu/planthealth/ipm/notes_ag/hemp-painted-lady.php (accessed 2026-10-16)
  4. iNaturalist, “Vanessa cardui taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/48548 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-16. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.