Page 284 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
DISTRIBUTION Most of United States
HABITAT Fields, parks, gardens, and canyons
HOST PLANTS Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritaceae), cudweed
(Gnaphalium spp.), and pussytoe (Antennaria spp.)
NOTE Spiny caterpillar that builds complex silk nests
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but common

ADULT WINGSPAN
2–2⅛ in (50–55 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1½–1 ⁄ in (38–43 mm)
VANESSA VIRGINIENSIS
AMERICAN LADY
282
(DRURY, 1773)

American Lady females lay eggs singly or a few at a time on
their low-growing host plants. The eggs hatch after six to
seven days, and rst instars immediately excavate lightly silked

nests under leaf pubescence. Most rst instar caterpillars stay
between leaf membranes, feeding and creating “windowpane”
areas. Older instars move to the outer leaf surface and
form increasingly complex nests by silking leaves together.
Feeding occurs inside or outside the nests, mostly by night.
Final ( fth) instar caterpillars leave their nests and rest exposed

on stems and leaves.

The caterpillar’s defense is based mostly on concealment
in nests until the fth instar, when prominent spines and bold

color patterns may deter predators. Pupation occurs mainly on
the host plant and lasts for less than a week. Development from
Actual size
egg-laying to adult eclosion takes about a month during summer.

Adults y fast and erratically, usually close to the ground, and

visit numerous types of owers for nectar.

The American Lady caterpillar is spiny and
transversely banded in black and yellowish
white, with prominent orange spots and white
spots. The pale intersegmental areas comprise
ve to six indistinct white bands on a black
background. The head is black and bears
numerous long, white setae.