I may not have made it clear that the plants that I mentioned are plants
used by the caterpillars. The adults nectar on a broader range of plants.
While I'm also interested in their nectar (or poop or fruit or carrion)
choices, I'm more interested in the larval host plant choices.

Stewart

-----Original Message-----
From: Stewart Wechsler [mailto:ecostewart at quidnunc.net]
Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2005 1:18 AM

Painted Ladies - Vanessa Cardui
... Thistles - notably Bull
Thistle - Cirsium vulgare and Short-styled Thistle when available seem to be
favored in western Washington, but that may change as some plants get closer
to drying up and some come into bloom through the season. I've seen them
use other composites (asteraceae), lupines and Borage and Mallow family
members. They use quite a few different host plants, but to my knowledge
normally only herbaceous plants. I'm interested in which plants they choose
when and where.

The last time I searched through the images on the internet this was the
best I could find:
Vanessa cardui - Painted Lady
http://www.naturefg.com/images/c-animals/vanessa%20cardui.jpg
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