Painted Lady Butterfly On Mistflower

Title

Painted Lady Butterfly On Mistflower

Artist

Karen Adams

Medium

Photograph - Fine Art Digital Prints - Photography

Description

I find it kind of humorous that for several years I had trouble growing this flower. My wonderful Mother-in-law would give me starts each spring, but they refused to reappear the following year. Well, now these flowers pop up everywhere! I wish MaryJo could see it and laugh at my eventual success! (Somehow I do think she is doing that !! ♥) This flower is much loved by Painted lady butterflies. This morning a couple of them were hanging out in my front yard where my Hardy Ageratum (Conoclinium coelestinum) was blooming in lavender mounds. This plant is also called Mist Flower, with fuzzy blue flowers atop attractive red stems. It blooms in September and October and can be aggressive, spreading quickly. This gives me the freedom to not feel too badly when I have to pull up sprouts in areas I don't want them. This quality means they are found in old fields, meadows, and along stream banks. For someone who loves wildflowers, these are a favorite since they naturalizes readily. Another reason I love these flowers is that they are butterfly magnets. This little Painted Lady paid little attention to me, preferring to give its attention to the flowers.

The Painted Lady is the most widely distributed butterfly in the world. Venessa cardui inhabits every continent except Australia and Antarctica. You can find painted ladies everywhere from meadows to vacant lots. It's sometimes called the cosmopolitan butterfly, because of its global distribution. Although it is resident only in warmer climates, it often migrates into colder regions in spring and fall, making it the butterfly with the widest distribution of any species.

It is called the thistle butterfly because thistle plants are its favorite nectar plant for food; it is called the cosmopolitan butterfly because of its global distribution. Its scientific name—Vanessa cardui—translates as "butterfly of thistle."

These medium-sized butterflies can cover a lot of ground, up to 100 miles per day during their migration. A painted lady is capable of reaching a speed of nearly 30 miles per hour.

Unlike many other species of butterflies that migrate to warm climates in winter, painted ladies die once winter hits in colder regions. They are present in cold regions only because of their impressive ability to migrate long distances from their warm-weather breeding areas.

Painted lady caterpillars weave silk tents. Unlike other caterpillars in the genus Vanessa, painted lady larvae construct their tents from silk. You'll usually find their fluffy shelters on thistle plants. Similar species, such as the American lady caterpillar, make their tents by stitching leaves together instead.

(much of this information is from: https://www.thoughtco.com/facts-about-painted-lady-butterflies)

If you are lucky enough to have room to let an area of your space be filled with wildflowers, you will be helping many small creatures to remain on this Earth . . . and you will enjoy the pleasure of their company!

I really appreciate you taking time to look at my artwork. Thank you so much!

I am very concerned with our environment and have decided to donate any money I make from any sales of this image to the ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND.....because the Earth needs a good lawyer! We all need to speak up and support efforts to protect our environment. We will not get a second chance!


**The watermark stamp will not appear on any purchased items. All images are protected by copyright law and cannot be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the artist.**

Uploaded

October 11th, 2019

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