# Painted lady (*Vanessa cardui*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/vanessa-cardui  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The painted lady (Vanessa cardui) is an insect in the butterflies and moths subgroup, placed in the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Nymphalinae and tribe Nymphalini. It belongs to the order Lepidoptera and the superfamily Papilionoidea, and its scientific name authority is (Linnaeus, 1758). The painted lady has a wingspan of 6.3 cm and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 4.6 cm – 6.09 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Nectarivore |
| Main food | flowers |
| Habitat | grassland, human_modified, shrubland |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| On the wing | All year |
| Generations a year | Several |
| Larval food plants | Asteraceae family |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Arthropoda
- class: Insecta
- order: Lepidoptera
- family: Nymphalidae
- genus: Vanessa
- species: *Vanessa cardui* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Cynthia cardui*, *Cynthia elymi*, *Cynthia litoralis*, *Nymphalis cardui*, *Papilio belladonna*, *Papilio carduelis*, *Papilio cardui*, *Parameis cardui*, *Pryrameis martha-maria*, *Pyrameis brunnea-albimaculata*, *Pyrameis carduelina*, *Pyrameis carduelis*, *Pyrameis carduelis*, *Pyrameis cardui*, *Pyrameis cardui f. conjuncta*, *Pyrameis cardui f. emielymi*, *Pyrameis cardui f. infaochracea*, *Pyrameis cardui f. infrabrunnea*, *Pyrameis cardui f. infraflava*, *Pyrameis cardui f. infragrisea*, *Pyrameis cardui f. septiespupillata*, *Pyrameis cardui f. sexispupillata*, *Pyrameis cardui inops*, *Pyrameis cardui japonica*, *Pyrameis elymnias*, *Pyrameis flava*, *Pyrameis japonica*, *Pyrameis johni*, *Pyrameis minor*, *Pyrameis pallens*, *Pyrameis pallida*, *Pyrameis rogeri*, *Pyrameis rosacea*, *Pyrameis rosea*, *Pyrameis schoenfellneri*, *Pyrameis subfracta*, *Pyrameis takesakiana*, *Pyrameis varini*, *Vanessa albicans*, *Vanessa albipuncta*, *Vanessa ate*, *Vanessa belladonna*, *Vanessa carnea*, *Vanessa elymi*, *Vanessa inops*, *Vanessa inornata*, *Vanessa jacksoni*, *Vanessa koreana*, *Vanessa minor*, *Vanessa nigripuncta*, *Vanessa universa*, *Vanessa ushuwaia*, *Vanessa wiskotti*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the painted lady?

The painted lady is an insect in the butterflies and moths subgroup, belonging to the order Lepidoptera and the family Nymphalidae.

### What is the scientific name of the painted lady?

The scientific name of the painted lady is Vanessa cardui, in the genus Vanessa.

### How big is the painted lady?

The painted lady has a wingspan of 6.3 cm.

### Is the painted lady endangered?

No. The painted lady is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in a global assessment, which is not a threatened category.

### What other names does the painted lady have?

The painted lady is also called the Cosmopolitan, Thistle butterfly, Cosmopolitan butterfly and Painted lady butterfly.

## Sources

- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19874602.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Shirey, V., Larsen, E., Doherty, A. et al. (2022) LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits. Scientific Data 9: 382. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01473-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19874602.v1
- [TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844), CC BY 4.0, 2.0. Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Painted lady (Vanessa cardui). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/vanessa-cardui