Australian Painted Lady

There is some debate about the Australian Painted Lady, Vanessa kershawi, being a subspecies of Vanessa cardui, the very cosmopolitan Painted Lady found worldwide.

The Australian Painted Lady in our district is a migratory species that arrives in spring and usually remains throughout the warmer months. It is a fast flier but remains fairly close to ground level most of the time.

This butterfly often rests with its wings partly open – most tend to shut their wings upon alighting on a perch or flower. Paper Daisy species are a favourite food plant for the Australian Painted Lady.

The male Australian Painted Lady is thought to be very territorial and spends lots of time chasing off others from his favourite patch.

I’ve never seen this, but one strange trait of the Australian Painted Lady apparently, is that when threatened by a predator such as a Robber Fly or a bird, the butterfly folds its wings and plummets to the ground where it lies apparently lifeless!

The above pictures were taken during a recent excursion to Mt St Gwinear.