Attracting Painted Ladies...Butterflies, That Is!
Unlike the female Monarch butterflies that will only lay their eggs on milkweed, the Painted Ladies are much less picky about their caterpillar host plants. Research shows their caterpillars have been found on as many as 100 different species of host plants in North America and other parts of the world. In addition to thistle, Painted Ladies will choose flowers such as pearly everlastings and hollyhocks for their caterpillars' host plants. They are also known to select borage {Borago officinalis}, an annual herb sporting cucumber-flavored leaves and blue flowers that are shaped like miniature saucers.
Adult Painted Ladies enjoy the nectar from a variety of flowers. If you want to attract Painted Lady butterflies to your garden, consider planting some of their favorites: asters, cosmos, hollyhocks, borage, Joe Pye weed, blazing star, ironweed, and yes -- thistle!
American Painted Lady {Vanessa virginiensis}
American Painted Lady butterflies are found primarily in the southern part of the United States. More of these butterflies are residents in the eastern states than in the western states. They are also found in Mexico and Central America as far south as Colombia. Research suggests that American Painted Ladies migrate to southern Canada, and also as far away as Europe and the West Indies. As with the Painted Lady, the American Painted Lady also responds to two pseudonyms: "Virginia Lady" and "Hunter's Butterfly."
Some caterpillar host plants that American Painted Ladies seek out include pearly everlastings, sweet everlastings, artemisia, burdock, and ironweed. Adult American Painted Ladies enjoy imbibing nectar from marigolds, goldenrod, asters, heliotrope, zinnias, yarrow, everlastings, daisies, dogbane, milkweed, and vetch. Planting any or all of these in your garden should attract a host of lovely American Painted Ladies for you to entertain!
West Coast Lady {Vanessa annabella}
As you might suspect from their name, West Coast Lady butterflies are found primarily in Western North America. Their range is less extensive than that of their two close relatives. They are usually found from Southern British Columbia southward into Baja, California, and are also fairly regular residents in Montana, New Mexico, Colorado, and Mexico.
Their caterpillars thrive primarily on plants in the mallow family such as lavatera, globe mallow, checkerbloom, and hollyhocks. The adult West Coast Ladies are easy to please as they will imbibe nectar from many different kinds of flowers. Planting both host plants and nectar plants will provide these beautiful ladies a home for their caterpillars and
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