A Painted Lady “drinking Milk Thistle
The Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa cardui) is a medium sized butterfly that lives in open areas like fields and parks in the southwest USA. It has a wingspan of 5.1 – 7.3 cm depending on gender and genetics. They eat many different kinds of plants as caterpillars, including thistle, burdock and hollyhocks. The caterpillars themselves are black with branching spines that can be yellow.
They migrate all over the world, including the United States, Europe and Africa. They usually migrate in the fall.
They are a common food source almost all over the world, they are eaten by spiders, mantids, lizards, you name it. There abundance doesn’t help.
Mojave Desert Wildlife 