American lady

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American painted lady
American Lady Vanessa virginiensis Upper Wings 1609px.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Vanessa
Species:
V. virginiensis
Binomial name
Vanessa virginiensis
(Drury, 1773)
Synonyms
  • Nymphalis cardui virginiensisDrury, 1773
  • Papilio hunteraFabricius, 1775

The American painted lady or American lady (Vanessa virginiensis) [3] is a butterfly found throughout North America.

Contents

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. [4] 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. [5]

Description

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.

The largest spot in the black forewing tips is white in V. cardui, pale orange in this species, and orange in the West Coast species. The latter also has a purer orange background color of the dorsal side, as opposed to the darker and (especially in V. virginiensis) redder hue of the other two.

A less reliable indicator is the row of black eyespots on the dorsal submarginal hindwing. In the American painted lady, those on the opposite ends of the row are often larger and have blue "pupils". In V. annabella, this applies to the inner two spots, while in V. cardui some of the black eyespots may have tiny blue pupils in the summer morph, but usually have none at all, and the eyespots themselves are all roughly the same size. The size of the wings are about 5 cm (2 in) across.

Etymology and taxonomic history

The name "painted lady" was in use among James Petiver, Adam Buddle and other naturalists in England for the closely related Vanessa cardui. Petiver had described it as "Papilio Bella donna dicta". Fabricius called the American form of the butterfly as Papilio huntera based on a vagrant specimen captures in Britain and it was for sometime known as Hunter's butterfly. W. J. Holland identified the "Hunter" as an American Indian named John Dunn who had been noted for his hunting ability as the "hunter". John Dunn had later moved to Europe but this hypothesis has been pointed out as being implausible since John Dunn "Hunter" was born c. 1798 and that Fabricius most likely named it after his friend and collecting companion William Hunter. [6] [7]

Distinguishing features

See Cynthia (butterfly) § Distinguishing features

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Cynthia</i> (butterfly) Subgenus of insects

Cynthia is a group of colourful butterfly species that used to be considered a subgenus of the genus Vanessa, in the family Nymphalidae. Before that, it was first described as a genus. Nowadays, this group is not considered a valid taxon anymore, because it is paraphyletic. The name CynthiaFabricius, 1807 is now a junior subjective synonym of VanessaFabricius, 1807.

<i>Papilio glaucus</i> Species of insect

Papilio glaucus, the eastern tiger swallowtail, is a species of butterfly native to eastern North America. It is one of the most familiar butterflies in the eastern United States, ranging north to southern Ontario, Canada, and is common in many different habitats. It flies from spring until fall, during which it produces two to three broods. Adults feed on the nectar of many species of flowers, mostly from those of the families Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, and Fabaceae. P. glaucus has a wingspan measuring 7.9 to 14 cm. The male is yellow with four black "tiger stripes" on each forewing. Females may be either yellow or black, making them dimorphic. The yellow morph is similar to the male, but with a conspicuous band of blue spots along the hindwing, while the dark morph is almost completely black.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Coast lady</span> Species of butterfly

The West Coast lady is one of three North American species of brush-footed butterflies known colloquially as the "painted ladies". V. annabella occurs throughout much of the western US and southwestern Canada. The other two species are the cosmopolitan Vanessa cardui and the eastern Vanessa virginiensis. This species has also been considered a subspecies of the South American Vanessa carye and is frequently misspelled as "anabella".

<i>Vanessa cardui</i> Species of butterfly

Vanessa cardui is the most widespread of all butterfly species. It is commonly called the painted lady, or formerly in North America the cosmopolitan.

<i>Vanessa</i> (butterfly) Genus of brush-footed butterflies in the family Nymphalidae with a near-global distribution

Vanessa is a genus of brush-footed butterflies in the tribe Nymphalini. It has a near-global distribution and includes conspicuous species such as the red admirals, the Kamehameha, and the painted ladies of the Cynthia group : Painted lady, American painted lady, West Coast lady, Australian painted lady, etc. For African admirals, see genus Antanartia. Recently, several members traditionally considered to be in the genus Antanartia have been determined to belong within the genus Vanessa.

<i>Papilio buddha</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio buddha, the Malabar banded peacock, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Western Ghats of India. The Government of Kerala declared it as the official Kerala state butterfly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nymphalini</span> Tribe of butterflies

Nymphalini is a tribe of nymphalid brush-footed butterflies. Common names include admirals, anglewings, commas, and tortoiseshells, but none of these is specific to one particular genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian painted lady</span> Species of butterfly

The Australian painted lady is a species of butterfly mostly confined to Australia, although westerly winds have dispersed it to islands east of Australia, including New Zealand. Debate surrounds the taxonomy of this species. Some believe that the Australian painted lady should be a subspecies of the painted lady due to the similarity in lifestyle and behaviour. Furthermore, the painted lady is found around the globe, but Australia is the only location in which it varies enough to be considered a separate species.

<i>Papilio neumoegeni</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio neumoegeni is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is endemic to the islands of Sumba in Indonesia.

Painted ladies, in the U.S., are Victorian houses repainted in bright polychrome

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common wood-nymph</span> Species of butterfly

The common wood-nymph is a North American species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is also known as the wood-nymph, grayling, blue-eyed grayling, and the goggle eye.

<i>Colias palaeno</i> Species of butterfly

Colias palaeno, known by the common names moorland clouded yellow, palaeno sulphur, and pale Arctic clouded yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae.

<i>Libythea celtis</i> Species of butterfly

Libythea celtis, the European beak or nettle-tree butterfly, is a butterfly of the Libytheinae group of the brush-footed butterflies family.

<i>Papilio thoas</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio thoas, the king swallowtail or Thoas swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in the southernmost United States, Mexico, Central America and South America. The species is easily confused with the giant swallowtail, which it closely resembles in both larval and adult stages. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of citrus plants (Rutaceae). They have also been reported as feeding on a member of the genus Piper.

<i>Euphaedra cyparissa</i> Species of butterfly

Euphaedra cyparissa, the true forester, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The habitat consists of drier forests and open wet forests or the edges of wet forests.

References

  1. Walker, A. (2020). "Vanessa virginiensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T161254A882795. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T161254A882795.en . Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  2. "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 Vanessa virginiensis American Lady". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  3. "Vanessa Fabricius, 1807" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  4. "Species Vanessa virginiensis - American Lady - Hodges#4434". BugGuide.
  5. "Common Look-alikes". Pulelehua Project. University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  6. Wilkinson, R.S. (1978). "The British origin of the name of "Hunter's Butterfly": a case of mistaken identity solved". The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation: 155–156.
  7. Salmon, Michael A. (2000). The Aurelian Legacy. Harley Books. pp. 316–317.