Painted Lady Caterpillar
Vanessa cardui (larva)
Painted lady caterpillars live on host plants in open, sunny habitats including fields, gardens, and roadsides. They feed chiefly on leaves of thistles, mallows, and related plants, often sheltering within loose silk webbing among the foliage. The dark, spiny larvae are not venomous, but their bristly appearance helps discourage some predators.
- Type
- Shell
- Conservation status
- LC
Growth chain
- Painted Lady Caterpillar
- ?
- Painted Lady