Butterfly Spotting: Butterflies in the lady group tend to look strikingly similar with their orange color and black markings. A good identifier for the painted lady is the white crescent markings at the front edge of the forewings.

Backyard Tip: Painted ladies gravitate to composites. These are plants that are characterized by florets arranged in dense heads that resemble single flowers. Some examples are thistle, aster, cosmos, blazing star, ironweed and joe-pye weed. Other flowers that can also be on the menu are red clover, buttonbush, privet and milkweed.