New Delhi: The delicate insects, the Painted Lady Butterflies – Vanessa cardui, have been found to have travelled an astonishing distance of over 2,600 miles from West Africa to South America. A researcher, Gerard Talavera, working in French Guiana, a country in South America, was left in awe when he discovered this. Talavera, once sitting on a beach, found something unusual but beautiful. It was the painted lady butterflies sitting on the sand. The incident dates back to 2013. This species is primarily found in South America. The butterflies that Talavera observed in French Guiana seemed exhausted and had damaged wings. This species, Vanessa cardui, is known to have remarkable migratory abilities. Let us learn about some lesser-known facts about the migratory butterfly.
Vanessa cardui: Lesser-known facts
One of the most familiar butterflies in the world, the painted lady or Vanessa cardui, is found in nearly all continents and climates. Besides this, they are also a favourite subject of study in elementary schools and are a familiar visitor to most landscape gardens.
Appearance, height & other features
An adult Vanessa cardui is about 5.1 to 7.3 cm in length. Their upper side wings are orange-brown with darker wing bases, the forewings are white, and the rear wings have a row of five tiny black dots. The wings’ underside is brown, black and grey with tiny submarginal eyespots.
Eggs are pale green and have 14 to 19 vertical ribs, and the larvae are greyish brown and darker at the ends. They have a yellow stripe running down the back of their body, and spikes follow the curves on the back and sides of their body. Pupae can be of various colours, including metallic green, brown or bluish-white.
Other Physical Features
Range length: 5.1 to 7.3 cm
Average length: 6.4 cm
Range wingspan: 5.1 to 7.3 cm
Average wingspan: 6.4 cm
During their migrations, they can cover impressive distances, up to 100 miles per day (Photo credit: Photo credit: Paul Chambers/Moment/Getty Images)
World’s widely distributed butterfly
They inhabit almost every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Though they live only in warmer climates, painted lady butterflies often migrate to colder regions in spring and fall.
Other names
The painted lady is known as the thistle butterfly because thistle plants are its favourite nectar plant for food. It is also called the cosmopolitan butterfly because of its global distribution.
Migration
The painted lady is an irruptive migrant who migrates independently of seasonal or geographic patterns. Their migrations may be linked to the El Nino climate pattern, a periodic warming of the sea surface in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. This climate pattern can influence weather conditions worldwide, potentially affecting the painted lady’s migratory behaviour. The migrating populations moving from North Africa to Europe may include millions of butterflies. In spring, these butterflies fly low, usually only 6 to 12 feet above the ground, while migrating. This makes them highly visible to butterfly watchers. During other times, these painted lady butterflies migrate at high altitudes, where they are not observed and can appear unexpectedly in new regions.
Fast and Far
These medium-sized butterflies are not to be underestimated. During their migrations, they can cover impressive distances, up to 100 miles per day. With around 30 miles per hour, these painted lady butterflies can reach northern areas well ahead of some of their more famous migrating cousins, like monarch butterflies. Their speed and endurance are indeed a wonder of nature.
Like warm climates
Unlike many other butterfly species that migrate to warm climates in winter, these beautiful butterflies die once winter hits colder regions. They visit cold areas because of their ability to migrate long distances.
Damage Soybean Crops
When found in large numbers, these butterflies can seriously damage soybean crops. The damage occurs during the larval stages when the caterpillars eat soybean foliage after hatching from eggs. This can lead to significant losses for farmers, especially if the infestation is not detected and controlled in time.
Mating
Male-painted lady butterflies actively patrol their territory in the afternoon for receptive females. When a male butterfly finds a mate, it usually retreats with its partner to a treetop, where it will mate overnight.
On overcast days, they go to the ground
You can find them huddling in small depressions on such days. On sunny days, these butterflies prefer open areas filled with colourful flowers.
Painted Lady Butterfly, known as thistle or cosmopolitan butterflies, are a truly global species. They are the most widely distributed butterflies in the world. Their irruptive migration patterns, independent of seasonal or geographic cues, are what sets them apart. This unique trait makes them a fascinating subject to learn about. Read on to discover more about these migratory wonders. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
