Invertebrates
American Lady
Vanessa virginiensis · also called American painted lady
Tucked inside a shelter of silk and folded leaves on its host plant, an American lady caterpillar feeds in relative safety, a protective habit more pronounced than in its closely related and more widely travelled cousin, the painted lady.
Overview
The American lady, Vanessa virginiensis, is a brightly coloured butterfly native to grassland and other open habitat across a broad range of North America. Its distinctive pair of large underwing eyespots, protective silk-and-leaf caterpillar shelter, and narrower host plant range compared with its close relative the painted lady make it one of the more identifiable and behaviourally distinctive members of the Vanessa butterfly group.
A close relative told apart by two spots
At a glance, the American lady and painted lady look remarkably alike, but flip either one over and the number of eyespots on the hindwing settles the question immediately.
Status
Least Concern — widespread and common across suitable grassland and open habitat throughout most of North America.
American Lady: common questions
How can you tell an American lady from a painted lady?
Look at the underside of the hindwing, where the American lady shows two comparatively large eyespots, while the painted lady shows four smaller eyespots in the same location, a difference that remains one of the most reliable ways to separate these two otherwise similarly patterned species.
Why does the American lady build a shelter as a caterpillar?
This species' caterpillar constructs a shelter from silk and folded leaves on its host plant, hiding within this structure while feeding, a behaviour that likely offers some protection from predators and weather compared with feeding fully exposed on the plant surface.
Does the American lady migrate like the painted lady?
Not to the same degree; this species undertakes more limited seasonal movements than the painted lady, which is well known for occasional dramatic population surges and long-distance movements, while the American lady generally stays within a more consistent range year to year.
What does the American lady caterpillar eat?
This species' caterpillar feeds mainly on everlasting plants and related species, a narrower range of host plants than the many different plant families the more generalist painted lady caterpillar can use, tying the American lady more closely to the specific availability of its preferred host plants.