A 1992 article on Vanessa cardui (I presume)

[Michael Gochfeld]

In view of the recent reports of many Painted Ladys migrating (and in 
view of the unusual commonness of American Ladies (V. virginiensis) in 
the east, I thought the following would be of interest, from that 
venerable science publication NEW YORK POST (April 24, 1992). 

In re-reading the following I was impressed on how the phenomenon of 
butterfly dynamics and migration (or emigration) can be trivialized in 
terms of windshields and radiators. It's a good thing that no one 
inhaled or swallowed one.   MIKE GOCHFELD


BLIZZARD OF BUTTERFLIES
	San Francisco (AP)--Billions of butterflies have invaded the 
West, plastering windshields and clogging radiators as they flutter 
north to Canada on a one-way journey in numbers that may not be repeated 
for decades.
	Scientists say the boom of painted lady butterflies is a 
dramatic sign that California's water picture is brightening. More water 
means more plants for the butterflies to eat which means more 
butterflies. 
	"I think the butterflies are a bellwether of environmental 
change," said Dennis Murphy, director of Stanford University's Center 
for Conservation Biology. "This is MOther Nature flexing her muscles and 
suggesting [she] is on a comeback."
	He believes this year's northbound population is 100 to 1,000 
times its usual size. 


 
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