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The Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
Life cycle
Eats thistle
Are named after the fact that they look painted
Live on every continent except Antarctica and Australia
They are also known as the thistle butterfly because of their host plant
Has an unusual migration pattern, meaning it migrates independently of any seasonal or geographic patterns
Native status: Native
This is a picture of a Painted lady egg. They are a greenish-yellow color. They have lines and bumps on the top of the egg and the egg is barrel-shaped. They lay their eggs on the underside of thistle leaves. They are laid one by one, not in groups. It takes 3 to 5 days for them to hatch.
This is a picture of a painted lady caterpillar. They are black and spiky. Their host plant is thistle, but they eat other plants as well. They stay as caterpillars for 12-18 days until they go into a chrysalis. Here are some facts about these caterpillars:
-They are known as the thistle caterpillar because they eat thistle
-These caterpillars eat more than thistle. Some common plants they eat are soybeans and sunflower leaves
Here is a picture of a painted lady chrysalis. It is a tan-brown color. It becomes a darker brown and see-through when it is about to hatch. Before they turn into a chrysalis they shed their skin for the last time, and then they spin a chrysalis around them. They stay a chrysalis for about 7 to 10 days. Every time the chrysalis feels threatened it wiggles around.
This is the last stage of the painted lady, a butterfly. They look like they are painted. The size of painted lady butterflies is 2 to 2 and a half inches. They live up to 1 year. They are orange, black, white, and brown. Here are some fun facts about painted lady:
They look like they are painted
They're found around the world
The Painted lady has good camouflage
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