July 28, 2026

A Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) eating the nectar of Apple Mint (Mentha suaveolens). As an adult, the Painted Lady butterfly lives from 2 to 4 weeks.

Favorite host plants for Painted Lady butterflies are thistles, hollyhocks, sunflowers, and mallows.

This butterfly has the widest distribution of any butterfly globally. It lives in every continent except Antarctica and South America, and is highly migratory. It can’t survive cold winters in temperate zones.

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