The Painted Lady is one of our largest butterflies and can be seen in Britain throughout the year although they are at there most common in mid to late summer. The upper wings are buff-orange near the body with dark brown/black markings with white patches towards the tips of the wings. The hind wings are also buff-orange with a row of dark brown/black circular spots. At the tip of the hind wings, a small area of blue colouration is present.

The underside of the wings are pale buff-brown/grey overall but on closer inspection, the pattern consists of a lattice of white veins in-between which are patches of dark browns and orange in different tones. Towards the outer edge of the hind wings, a row of distinctive metallic blue eyespots, circled with cream, red and black shimmer like jewels.

Newly emerged Painted Lady butterflies are often described as being Salmon Pink in colour, but as they age, the colours become more muted as described above.

The Painted Lady is a powerful flyer and is well known for its ability to migrate great distances. In Britain, although the species breeds, it is unable to survive our winters and does not hibernate in Britain. There may be individuals which occasionally survive the winter on the south coast.

The vast majority of the Painted Lady butterflies seen in Britain are the result of migration. Each spring, individuals migrate from North Africa. Some make the whole journey across Europe to the UK stopping occasionally to feed, while others may be 2nd, 3rd or 4th generation individuals which breed and migrate north in stages. Some arrive in early spring but in most years, the main influx of these butterflies starts in late May into early July. Numbers in Britain vary from year to year depending upon breeding conditions in north Africa and Europe and favourable weather systems which help to bring them across the English Channel. In good years, it is possible to watch Painted Ladies flying in from the sea in large numbers.

In 2009, breeding conditions for the Painted Lady in North Africa were perfect. Millions of butterflies migrated north as temperatures rose during the spring months. By the end of May, these butterflies had reached British shores and the obvious northern migration could be seen anywhere in Britain with individuals even being reported to have reached the Shetland Islands and even further north in Iceland.

As the urge to migrate slows by mid summer, Painted Lady butterflies congregate in areas where there is plenty of nectar. Grasslands containing Knapweed are popular while large areas of Creeping Thistle provide not only food for the adults feeding on the flowers, but also food for the caterpillars of the next generation which feed on the thistle leaves. On sunny days, the butterflies are very active feeding on wild flowers but as soon as the sun disappears, individuals tend to leave the nectar source and find a bare patch of earth, stone or rock on which to bask and absorb heat with their wings spread wide open.

When they are feeding, Painted Lady butterflies tend to be easy to approach. When basking or resting they are more weary of any movement and will either quickly shut their wings or fly away only to settle again nearby.

The female may lay up to 200 eggs; each one is laid on a different leaf/plant to the others. When the caterpillars hatch they first eat the underside of the leaf and are vulnerable to parasitic flies which lay their eggs on or inside the young caterpillar. The larvae of the parasitic fly feed on the caterpillars internal organs as it grows before they kill it and emerge and pupate in small silk capsules. As the Painted Lady caterpillar grows, it constructs a protective tent of folded leaves and discarded thorns which the caterpillar cannot eat and this is all fastened together with silk.

The caterpillar is black and covered in short forked spines, with a line of pale yellow/white spots along each side of its body. Fully grown, the caterpillar pupates (turns into a chrysalis), suspended by its tail within a large tend of leaves. (In captivity, the pupae are often suspended on the walls or roof of the cage rather than inside a tent of leaves).

The pupae of the Painted Lady are very similar to other butterflies in the Nymphalidae family having a metallic gold jewel like appearance. The pupae will wiggle rapidly if disturbed. The pupae hang suspended from the larval food plant or nearby vegetation and remain in this state for between 7 and 20 days before the Adult emerges. Between 5 and 24 hours prior to the adult emerging from the pupae the pupae case becomes translucent and the wing coloration of the Adult can be clearly seen while the general overall colour of the pupae is grey/blue in colour. The main emergence occurs in August and September.

As temperatures fall in late summer/early autumn, Painted Lady butterflies either stay in Britain and die here or make the return journey south (weather permitting) to mainland Europe where the species can continue to breed but in lower numbers.