Cynthia (butterfly)
Subgenus of insects / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses of "Painted Lady", see Painted Lady (disambiguation).
Cynthia is a group of colourful butterfly species that used to be considered a subgenus of the genus Vanessa, in the family Nymphalidae. Before that, it was first described as a genus. Nowadays, this group is not considered a valid taxon anymore, because it is paraphyletic.[1] The name Cynthia Fabricius, 1807 is now a junior subjective synonym of Vanessa Fabricius, 1807.[2]
Quick Facts Cynthia, Scientific classification ...
Cynthia | |
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Vanessa cardui | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Nymphalidae |
Genus: | Vanessa |
Subgenus: | Cynthia Fabricius, 1807 |
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In English, the species of the Cynthia group are sometimes collectively referred to as the painted ladies, although the name "painted lady" usually specifically refers to the near-cosmopolitan species Vanessa cardui.
The Cynthia group includes at least five species (to which some authors add other South American Vanessa species):
- the Painted lady (Vanessa cardui), which is almost global in its distribution,
- the Australian painted lady (Vanessa kershawi), mostly present in Australia,
- the American (painted) lady (Vanessa virginiensis), mostly in North America,
- the West Coast lady (Vanessa annabella) in Western North America,
- the Western painted lady (Vanessa carye) in South America.