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American Painted Lady Butterfly Life Cycle Watercolor Print
 by artist Nan Wilson
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| Click to enlarge image(s) |
AMERICAN PAINTED LADY (Vanessa virginiensis) Habitat nearly
everywhere in open areas from subtropics to lower Canadian Zone,
straying northward. Unable to survive cold winters, adults over-
winter in warm southern regions before dispersing north in spring, but
do not migrate in large numbers like the Painted Lady Butterfly. Eggs
are laid on top of the leaves, one at a time, dispersing them over many
of its host plants. Caterpillars live inside silk nests using plant hairs as
nests for young larvae. Several leaves are silked together by older larvae.
Food or host plants are everlastings, pussy-toes and cudweeds.
About the artist, Nan Wilson:
Nan’s typical starting point is a butterfly’s host plant. If she sees mating activity nearby, she’ll often stake out the plant—waiting for the female to lay her eggs. If she’s fortunate, she will raise the butterfly from those eggs to their release into the wild from which they came. She details the whole process photographically as a basis for her work
But just as often, she will have to track down images and information about each phase from multiple sources – field observation, library research and contacts within a network of lepidopterists and naturalists who have supported her work over the years.
Each print made individually, one-by-one.
Created with durable, oil pigmented inks on archival papers. Shipped with a label for the reverse side of the print (once framed) offering information about the subject matter.
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