photo by Greg Hofmann

3/30/2005: For the last few days, thousands of Painted Lady butterflies (Vanessa cardui) have been flying through the central coast area. Although they make this trek (technically a dispersal rather than a migration) from the deserts of Southern California and Mexico to Oregon every April, this year the numbers are especially large due to the heavy rains (and lush growth of wildflowers) in Southern California this year. These insects can cover 100 miles in a day, but they may take several generations to complete a dispersal. The adults feed on nectar as they fly (this one is sipping from a wild radish blossom), the larvae eat varous species of thistle. This is the most common butterfly species in the world – they are found on every continent but Australia and Antarctica. Click here to get another look in a new window, and here to learn more.