Painted Lady

I came across this Painted Lady butterfly at the Gardens at HCP. It was late in the season but there were still flowers to feed on. Painted Ladies are the most widespread butterflies in the world, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America. They make long range migrations like monarchs. In most years, Painted Ladies move north out of the deserts of northern Mexico and the southwestern U.S. to temporarily colonize the United States and Canada.

For a change it didn't take off immediately, perhaps more sluggish with the cooler weather. Or perhaps wanting to take advantage of the feeding site. It also helped I was using a telephoto lens so I didn't need to get too close.

These photos are all of the same individual, the only one I saw.

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