Southward Migration of Painted Lady Vanessa cardui

[Lynn]

Crete October 2009

We arrived on Crete on 13th October and we noted small numbers of Painted Lady in the first three days of our stay. On 16th October we were at the top of the Topolia Gorge, one of several gorges in western Crete that run in a north - south direction, and we became aware of a steady stream of Painted Lady, about 60-80 per hour, flying south along the road towards the gorge at 4pm in the afternoon.

The next morning at breakfast in the mountains at Milia increasing numbers were seen, again all heading south, in the early morning sunshine until 10am when it became overcast with drizzle and the migration stopped. The maximum count was 100 in 5 minutes across 50m. A few were seen later in the afternoon flying in light rain but no further migration was noted that day.

On 18th further southerly migration was noted all morning and a count at the northern end of the Topolia gorge produced a rate of 400 per hour through the gorge at midday.

We visited the slopes of Mount Ida (Psiloritis) in the centre of the island on the 19th, our last full day. A five minute count across 50m at 2.15pm amongst the Kermes Oaks produced 26 cardui (312 per hour) all still heading south. By 4.30pm we were down on the south coast at Agios Galini and hundreds of cardui were found nectaring on flowering Tamarisk trees on the beach. Despite the numbers present no visible migration was seen and we speculated that this was due to an unwillingness to set off over the sea that late in the day. By 5pm they had gone to roost among the Tamarisk. We like to think that they made the flight safely across the southern Mediterranean to Africa over the following day(s).

[Padfield]

That's fascinating. I'd be very interested to know if there are other reports of southward movement. All the painted ladies I saw this week (before bad weather set in) were behaving in sedentary fashion - feeding up or flying in apparently random directions. It is too late for them now if they do decide to fly south, I fear.

Perhaps migration is triggered in part by population density, even in the autumn.

Guy

[Gruditch]

The vast majority of PL disappeared form my area in the second week of August, when we had a Northerly wind blowing for 4 consecutive days. I suppose we will never know, but my guess is they breed somewhere in France, then their descendants, just like the ones Lynn witnessed in Crete, will make the last leg of the journey back to Africa about now.

Regards Gruditch

[Zonda]

Bye bye 'Painted Ladies'. we hope to see you next year. Mystery is a big part of their existence , and is to be enjoyed by naturalists countrywide. I personally don't need to know anything more about them, other than the fact that they come to us every year, and they are beautiful.