Painted Lady Butterfly on Hydrangea

by Karen Adams

Title

Painted Lady Butterfly on Hydrangea

Artist

Karen Adams

Medium

Photograph - Fine Art Digital Prints - Photography

Description

The Painted Lady is the most widely distributed butterfly in the world. Venessa cardui inhabits every continent except Australia and Antarctica. You can find painted ladies everywhere from meadows to vacant lots. It's sometimes called the cosmopolitan butterfly, because of its global distribution. Although it is resident only in warmer climates, it often migrates into colder regions in spring and fall, making it the butterfly with the widest distribution of any species.

It is called the thistle butterfly because thistle plants are its favorite nectar plant for food; it is called the cosmopolitan butterfly because of its global distribution. Its scientific name—Vanessa cardui—translates as "butterfly of thistle."

These medium-sized butterflies can cover a lot of ground, up to 100 miles per day during their migration. A painted lady is capable of reaching a speed of nearly 30 miles per hour.

Unlike many other species of butterflies that migrate to warm climates in winter, painted ladies die once winter hits in colder regions. They are present in cold regions only because of their impressive ability to migrate long distances from their warm-weather breeding areas.

Painted lady caterpillars weave silk tents. Unlike other caterpillars in the genus Vanessa, painted lady larvae construct their tents from silk. You'll usually find their fluffy shelters on thistle plants. Similar species, such as the American lady caterpillar, make their tents by stitching leaves together instead.

(much of this information is from: https://www.thoughtco.com/facts-about-painted-lady-butterflies)

If you are lucky enough to have room to let an area of your space be filled with wildflowers, you will be helping many small creatures to remain on this Earth . . . and you will enjoy the pleasure of their company!

I was actually standing on a college campus registering student voters when I noticed this lovely Painted Lady enjoying a small Hydrangea tree planted in a large pot. When I had a tiny break in the action of helping young folks fill out their forms, I was able to sneak over and take just a few shots of this wonderful friend helping me enjoy the beautiful day!! I think this Painted Lady is asking everyone to VOTE for people who will help protect our environment and continue this beauty on our earth!

I really appreciate you taking time to look at my artwork. Thank you so much!

I am very concerned with our environment and have decided to donate any money I make from any sales of this image to the ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND.....because the Earth needs a good lawyer! We all need to speak up and support efforts to protect our environment. We will not get a second chance!


**The watermark stamp will not appear on any purchased items. All images are protected by copyright law and cannot be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the artist.**



A big thank you to the administrators of the following groups for featuring this image on their group home page:

Macro Marvels

Wildlife

Lady Photographers

Bedroom Art Gallery

1000 Views Group

Uploaded

September 7th, 2019

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Viewed 2,300 Times  -  Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/23/2024 at 5:45 PM

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