The Ladies are back! Both of our Lady species in Vermont can be out now but there have only been a few sightings of the American Lady in the state since May 1.
Which of the butterflies below is the American Lady?
- Left
- Right
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Click below to reveal the answer to this weeks’ quiz!
The butterfly on the right is the American Lady! The butterfly on the left is the closely related Painted Lady.
From this upperside view, there are a few differences to help you ID these two species. The apex (upper tip) of the forewing on the American Lady is noticeably more square than that of the Painted Lady.
Lower down on the forewing, there is a black line that is thicker and closer to the body of the Painted Lady. The line on the American Lady is much thinner or may be missing altogether. The American Lady may (but not always) sport a white dot next to this line towards the wing edge.
Painted Ladies can be found worldwide (except South America and Antarctica). Their migrations have even led them to be spotted over 25,000 ft.
Painted Lady by Kent McFarland (iNaturalist)
American Lady by Erik Schiff (iNaturalist)
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