Swarms of butterflies are delighting residents and visitors alike, from Twentynine Palms to the Coachella Valley—and causing big yellow smears on car windshields. They’re the painted lady butterflies, on their migration north from Mexico. Managing editor Tami Roleff has more about these fluttering visitors…
Painted lady butterflies look like a small monarch, and like monarchs, they migrate from Mexico. But the painted ladies are unusual in that they breed and migrate at the same time (instead of breeding in one location and migrating to another). A painted lady migration may not reach its destination in Oregon, relying upon its progeny to complete the migration. Scientists believe that rainfall plays an important role in their life cycle, and this past winter has seen lots of rain, which nourishes the plants the butterflies and their caterpillars feed on: thistles are their favorite food, but they also feed on asters, cosmos, blazing star, ironweed, and milkweed. The butterflies can fly at 20 to 30 miles per hour, up to 100 miles in a day. They usually fly just 6 to 12 feet off the ground—perfect height for hitting your vehicle’s windshield.
