Vanessa cardui
Caterpillars much on:
Adults take nectar from a range of flowers including:
Butterflies of this migrant species start arriving in the UK in April, travelling from Africa and Arabia, sometimes via continental Europe. After several life cycles, their descendants usually fly away again in the autumn, back to warmer locations.
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There is even more about this species on the main Butterfly Conservation website
Every 10 years or so there is a boom in the number of Painted Ladies that reach our shores, with over 11 million of them arriving in 2009. They are thought to fly at night (unusual for butterflies) and individuals have been recorded flying as high as 1,200m, and as far as 1,000 miles, including crossing the inhospitable Sahara desert.
