| Australian Painted Lady | ||||||||||||||||||||
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 Australian painted lady (Vanessa kershawi) in Victoria
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanessa (Cynthia) kershawi (McCoy, 1868) |
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Cynthia kershawi McCoy, 1868 |
Vanessa kershawi, commonly known as the Australian Painted Lady, is a butterfly that is mostly confined to Australia, although westerly winds have dispersed it to islands east of Australia, including New Zealand. During spring adult butterflies migrate south in large numbers from northern states of Queensland and New South Wales. In 1889, this migration was so large that trains were unable to generate sufficient traction because of the large numbers of butterflies resting on the tracks.
A major food plant is Ammobium alatum.
Distinguishing features
- See also Painted Lady#Distinguishing features
Vanessa kershawi is similar to the near-cosmopolitan Painted Lady V. cardui and is sometimes considered a subspecies of that butterfly. The Australian species' four ventral eyespots are less clearly defined, and it always sports at least three (often four) conspicuous blue pupil spots on each dorsal hindwings' eyespots. V. cardui has either a few tiny pupil spots, or more often none at all.
Gallery
 Vanessa cardui; compare hindwing eyespots. |
 Vanessa kershawi; Adult soon after hatching. Note blue center of hindwing eyespots. |
 An Australian painted lady feeding |
 Australian painted lady on yellow flower |
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vanessa kershawi |
- CSIRO Ecowatch Australia, Vanessa kershawi
- Wildlife of Sydney, Australian Painted Lady, Blue Spotted Painted Lady Fact File
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