Where Do Painted Lady Butterflies Live?
Do Painted Lady Butterflies Migrate?
Painted Lady butterflies have impressive migrations in North America. They also migrate between Europe and central Africa, and between northern and southern Asia. The Painted Lady migrates northward in the spring as flowers are blooming and southward in the autumn. Sometimes a large group of painted ladies flies at high altitudes, and other times, low to the ground, searching for nectar and host plants. The butterflies live year round in northwest Mexico.
Unlike many other migratory species, they do not migrate every year. Scientists think that their migrations might be linked to weather patterns like El Niño. With abundant rainfall, a lot of host plants grow all over North America and the butterflies spread out to find them.
It takes 5-6 generations for the painted lady’s round trip journey from Mexico to Canada and back. That’s 4,000-5,000 miles roundtrip. They fly up to 12 hours per day.