Painted lady Butterfly (Vanessa Cardui)

Context: A recent discovery is made on the painted lady butterflies that travelled 2,600 miles to the French Guiana beach.

Background:

• The painted lady also called as the thistle butterfly, is native to Canada and cannot survive colder climates.
• Scientific Name - Vanessa cardui.
• The insect is a champion of long-distance travel, routinely crisscrossing the Sahara on a trek from Europe to sub-Saharan Africa, and covering up to 9,000 miles.
• Appearance - It has orange wings with black tips. The upper side of the forewings have a pattern of white spots and thick black lines.
• This is visually similar to the American lady, but it can be distinguished by the four eyespots instead of two on its hindwing.
• Habitat - This butterfly can be found almost anywhere, from the seashore and town gardens, to the tops of the highest mountains.
• Distribution – It is one of the world’s most widespread butterflies, but it isn’t found in South America.
• Diet – It fed on Thistles, the primary food plant of this species.
• This is one of the few species that can breed in intensive farmland since even these sites typically contain a patch of Thistles.
• Breeding They reproduce when conditions are favorable, this includes year round mating in warmer climates.
• Conservation status - This species is not legally protected in India under any schedules of WildLife (Protection) Act, 1972.

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