Barbury Castle, Swindon, Wiltshire, U.K.
Family : Nymphalidae
Subfamily : Nymphalinae
Species : Vanessa cardui
This is one of the most widely distributed of all butterflies and is found throughout Europe, Asia, Australasia, Africa, and the Americas. In some places it is a migrant species, the UK for example where the migrants come from North Africa and the Mediterranean region in early summer. Although they then breed they are unable to survive the British winter, even in the larval stage. It is a large butterfly with a wingspan of 55-70mm and is a powerful flyer, habitually flying from flower to flower, stopping for just a few seconds at each to take nectar.
Due to its migratory tendencies Vanessa cardui is found in a widely diverse range of habitats from coastal areas to mountain regions up to an altitude of around 2500m. It is an avid nectar feeder and seems to have a preference for thistles but also feeds on Bird's-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), Bugle (Ajuga reptans), Knapweeds (Centaurea spp.), and Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea). Females lay their eggs singly on the leaves of the larval foodplant, usually Thistles (Cirsium spp. and Carduus spp.), and sometimes Common Nettle (Urtica dioica).
All my insect pics are single, handheld shots of live insects.
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