American Lady
(Vanessa virginiensis)
True Brushfoots
Appearance: Above, rusty orange with a few white spots on black forewing tips, a small white spot in the orange field below the black wing tips, and a white bar at the leading edge of the forewing. Hindwing has a submarginal row of black-rimmed blue eyespots. Below, hindwing has two large black-rimmed blue eyespots on a olive-brown background with a cream webbed pattern on the inner area. Forewing shows pale orange or pink on the post basal area.
Wingspan: Medium; 1 3/4 to 2 5/8 inches.
Habitat: Most open areas; forests, meadows, ravines, washes and gardens; plains, foothills.
Flight Times: May through October. This species likely does not overwinter in Colorado in any stage, but flies north into our area in spring.
Larval Foodplant: Plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), pearly everlasting, pussytoes.
Did You Know…
Adults nectar on dogbane, asters, goldenrod, marigold, milkweed, and vetches and probably cannot survive extended cold winters so they must recolonize most of the United States and southern Canada each year (Opler, 1999).
