Posts Tagged: Painted Lady

Oops! Wrong Species, Wrong Gender

So here's this male monarch nectaring on a pink zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. The nectar is rich and he is as hungry as a migrant butterfly seeking flight fuel for the long journey ahead. A painted...

A painted lady, Vanessa cardui, touches down next to a male monarch, Danaus plexippus, on a pink zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A painted lady, Vanessa cardui, touches down next to a male monarch, Danaus plexippus, on a pink zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The male monarch lets the painted lady know that his advances are unwelcome. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The male monarch lets the painted lady know that his advances are unwelcome. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Okay, I'm leaving" The painted lady takes off as the monarch also prepares to leave. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Okay, I'm leaving" The painted lady takes off as the monarch also prepares to leave. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"I'm leaving, too!" The male monarch takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"I'm leaving, too!" The male monarch takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Vanessa cardui: Luck Be a Lady

When Frank Loesser (1910-1969) wrote and composed "Luck Be a Lady" in 1950, he wasn't thinking of a butterfly. But when we spotted this Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) in our garden this week, we knew she was lucky. A predator, probably a...

A Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, with chunked-out wings, nectars on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, with chunked-out wings, nectars on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Painted Lady, looking ready for take-off, sips nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Painted Lady, looking ready for take-off, sips nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Art Imitating Life or Life Imitating Art?

Does art imitate life or life imitate art? Oscar Wilde opined in his 1889 essay, The Decay of Lying: An Observation, that "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life." It's up for discussion. Take the painted lady butterfly,...

This painting in the oils and acrylics category, won best of show in professional fine arts at the 2021 Dixon May Fair. It is the work of Robert Valdez.

This painting in the oils and acrylics category, won best of show in professional fine arts at the 2021 Dixon May Fair. It is the work of Robert Valdez.

A painted lady, Vanessa cardui, flutters away in this prize-winning work of artist Roberto Valdez. He won best of show in the professional fine arts category, oils and acrylics, at the 2021 Dixon May Fair.

A painted lady, Vanessa cardui, flutters away in this prize-winning work of artist Roberto Valdez. He won best of show in the professional fine arts category, oils and acrylics, at the 2021 Dixon May Fair.

Painted Ladies: Yes, They Do!

Yes, they do, and yes, she did. Painted lady butterflies, Vanessa cardui, do lay their eggs on Echium wildpretii, commonly known as "the tower of jewels." However, this little lady (below) persistently returned a few times to find a bee-free spot. She...

A painted lady, Vanessa cardui, laying her eggs on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A painted lady, Vanessa cardui, laying her eggs on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This painted lady, Vanessa cardui, is foraging on lantana in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This painted lady, Vanessa cardui, is foraging on lantana in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Painted Lady and an Ice Plant

When you're sheltering in, you can still take the dog for a walk--and look for insects. We spotted this Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) sunning itself on a carpet of red-purple ice plant (Delosperma cooperi) in west Vacaville on March 20, ...

A Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) flutters on ice plant in West Vacaville on March 20, 2020. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) flutters on ice plant in West Vacaville on March 20, 2020. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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