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Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumArthropoda (Arthropods)
- ClassInsecta (Insects)
- OrderLepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- FamilyNymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
- GenusVanessa (Ladies and Related Admirals)
- SpeciesVanessa cardui (Painted Lady)
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
62 Verified sightings at Channel Islands National Park From 2019 to 2026
3,836 In all 66 parks
October Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted
About the Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui is the most widespread of all butterfly species. It is commonly called the painted lady, or formerly in North America the cosmopolitan butterfly. Male and female. Upperside. Ground-colour reddish-ochreous, basal areas olivescent-ochreous-brown; cilia black, alternated with white, Forewing with an outwardly-oblique black irregular-shaped broken band crossing from middle of the cell to the disc above the submedian vein; the apical area from end of cell and the exterior border also black; before the apex is a short white outwardly-oblique streak and a curved row of four round spots, the second and third being small; a marginal pale lunular line with its upper portion most defined and whitish. Hind-wing with a blackish patch from the costal vein across end of cell, a partly confluent recurved discal band, a submarginal row of lunules, and then a marginal row of somewhat scutiform spots; between the discal band and submarginal lunules is a row of five round black spots, which in some examples show a pale and dark outer ring. Underside. Forewing brighter reddish-ochreous, the apical area and outer margin much paler, the apex being olivescent ochreous-brown... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Painted Lady in Channel Islands National Park
LIVEiNaturalistGlobal Distribution
Parks Where Found
Cities Where Found
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuwait City | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | |
| 2 | Dammam | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | |
| 3 | Amman | 🇯🇴 Jordan | |
| 4 | Addis Ababa | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 5 | Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Jerusalem | 🇮🇱 Israel | |
| 7 | Athens | 🇬🇷 Greece | |
| 8 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 9 | Casablanca | 🇲🇦 Morocco | |
| 10 | Ankara | 🇹🇷 Turkey |
Closest Relatives at Channel Islands National Park
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing a Painted Lady in Channel Islands National Park?
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Painted Lady sighting in Channel Islands National Park on a given day, based on 62 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 13th most-seen of the 131 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see a Painted Lady in Channel Islands National Park?
October
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Painted Lady in Channel Islands National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July–August and December–January, the lowest months. That is one of Channel Islands National Park's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 60 mm in January.
What time of day is best to see a Painted Lady?
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Painted Lady sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Is Channel Islands National Park the best place to see a Painted Lady?
28th of 66
Of the 66 parks where we can rate Painted Lady sightings, Channel Islands National Park ranks 28th at about 20%. The best odds are in Death Valley National Park (United States, about 40%), Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 40%) and Joshua Tree National Park (United States, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Which relatives of the Painted Lady live in Channel Islands National Park?
Same genus: Vanessa
The closest relatives of the Painted Lady that you can see in Channel Islands National Park (genus Vanessa, Ladies and Related Admirals) are West Coast Lady (about 30%), American Lady (about 20%) and Red Admiral (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
Where does the Painted Lady sighting chance come from?
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Painted Lady is recorded against all the insects logged in Channel Islands National Park (62 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
