Can anyone help please?

[Paulde]

I saw this butterfly in Durnstein, Austria at the castle where Richard I was held prisoner so a very tenuous connection with the UK. Can anyone identify it please?

[MikeOxon]

Hi Paulde - this is a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) butterfly. This species emerges in North Africa and then migrates, often in huge numbers, across Europe, as shown on the following map [Wikimedia Commons]

So the link with UK is not as tenuous as you might have thought

Mike

[Paulde]

Thank you. It just looked so different from any Painted Lady that I've seen in this country.

[MikeOxon]

I think it is a well-worn specimen, in which the blacker areas have faded.

Mike