To sex the Painted Lady

[Pierre A Plauzoles]

In a previous article, MMintz4912 at aol.com () says:

>Is there any way to sex the painted lady? I have about 10 and I can't tell for
>my life. Also, do they only lay eggs on thistles? Thanks in advance,

No, they don't lay only on thistles.  I have had them on hollyhocks and 
mallow.  As a matter of fact, I just collected a batch of larvae about a 
week ago in the Pine Canyon area (west of Lake Elizabeth - for those of 
you who are not familiar with Los Angeles County, that is about halfway 
between Palmdale [SR14] and Gorman/Tejon Pass [I-5]).  On getting home, 
since I didn't have thistle handy, I tried them on Malva parviflora, 
which grows in seemingly every piece of unattended land in the San Fernando 
Valley.  Within seconds, they were eating it like thistle and mallow were 
the same species, which, of course, they are definitely not.
-- 
Pierre Plauzoles   ae779 at lafn.org
Canoga Park, California