San Diego Butterfly Migrations: The Painted Lady

Spring has come to San Diego, and that means that butterflies will soon be migrating throughout the county. Painted Lady Butterflies migrate through San Diego each year, although their population depends upon the quantity of rainfall that has hit the region. Since this year has had several rainstorms, I am hoping that there will be a large migration of Painted Ladies this year.

The Painted Lady Butterfly begins as a small red and black caterpillar and does not reach a large size before it undergoes its metamorphosis and turns into a butterfly. Butterflies emerge from their cocoons at approximately an inch and a half tall and have a wingspan of approximately two inches.

In San Diego County, Painted Lady butterflies are born in large numbers in the Anza Borrego dessert area in Eastern San Diego County. The butterflies emerge from their cocoons and feed on the abundant wild flowers that bloom each year. If there has been significant rainfall in San Diego, more flowers will bloom. An abudance of food prompts the butterflies to great a larger population.

Temperatures in east San Diego are hotter than they are at the coast. As the temperature rises, the plants that the butterflies feed on begin to dry out. As a result, the Painted Ladies migrate towards the coastal areas, where they can find blooming plants to feed from. In my personal experience, the migration of the San Diego Painted Ladies ranges from seeing a few more in the area over a few days, to seeing large swarms heading through the city, in which you get an actual sense of the butterflies travelling from one part of the county to another.

Many people in San Diego confuse the migration of the Pained Lady butterfly with that of the Monarch Butterfly. Monarchs are much larger and have darker coloration than Painted Ladies do. Painted Ladies have a subtle brown color on the outside of their wings, and you can see that they are bright orange when they spread their wings. It is quite beautiful, and surprising since they are very camouflaged when their wings are closed.

Painted Lady butterflies are not unusual to California or San Diego. Throughout California, that butterflies are born in the more arid eastern regions and migrate toward the coast each Spring. Painted Ladies feed on a variety of flowers, and may linger in your garden if there is food for them. Painted Ladies are found throughout the world in North and South America, Asia, Europe, and Africa.

If you have children, consider raising and releasing some Painted Lady Butterflies. They can be purchased as caterpillars in a small habitat from wwww.insectlore.com. Your children can watch the caterpillars go through their life cycle and emerge from their cocoons as butterflies. After they emerge, the children can collect flowers and sprinkle them with sugar water to feed the butterflies. After spring temperatures have reached fifty-five degrees, the Painted Ladies can be released into the wild. Children love to grow butterflies, and it is especially rewarding for them to be able to release them during the migratory season.