Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)

 The Painted Lady is the most widely distributed butterfly in the world. In Sri Lanka, however, it is an uncommon species, occurring mainly in the hill country above 1,500 m above sea level. Nevertheless, there are occasional records from several lowland localities, including Galle, Matara, Kalutara, Colombo, Jaffna, Mannar, Arippu, Digana, Trincomalee, and Bandarakoswatta.

The accompanying photograph was taken on 19 June 2026 at Pitawala Patana in the Matale District, where two individuals were observed basking on a rocky outcrop.

In the hill country, the Painted Lady can be found in sunny open areas along railway tracks, at the edges of tea estates, on steep embankments bordering forest footpaths and roads, and in home gardens. Its larvae feed on the leaves of Artemisia dubia and Anaphalis subdecurrens.