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The
Painted
Lady migrates north ever year but does not always reach Ontario.
In some years adults arrive in June but sometimes they do not appear until
August. |
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Eggs
are laid on thistle as well as at least 100 other plants. They are
extremely difficult to find, because of their small size in the chaotic
structure of the thistle plants. Newly hatched larvae are also difficult
to find. |
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The
full grown Painted Lady caterpillar
makes a large nest of silk and plant pieces. This makes them very
easy to identify. Often there are many larvae on a single large thistle.
Caterpillars require only 10 days to mature in warm weather. |
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The
chrysalis
is difficult to find in the wild. Painted Lady butterflies cannot
survive the northern winter, and do not know enough to migrate south. Hence,
there is mass mortality in all stages each fall. |
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