Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
from
ukbms.org/species/painted-lady
Species description

© - Nick Greatorex-Davies
The Painted Lady arrives in the UK in the spring as a migrant from North Africa every year, with numbers arriving fluctuating considerably from one year to the next. Vast numbers arrive in some years (e.g. 1996, 2009). Offspring from the early migrants can be seen until the first frosts in the autumn. Thistles (e.g. Circium spp.) are the most frequently used foodplant in the UK. Unlike our other Vanessids the adults do not normally survive our British winter. (For further details on this species see www.butterfly-conservation.org/).


Status
Regular migrant
Status since 1976 is Stable with a change of 64.4% since monitoring began for this species.
Status over the last 20 years is Stable with a change of -39.5%
Status over the last 10 years is Stable with a change of -46.8%