Vanessa cardui is a very common migrant that arrives from Africa every summer. Numbers fluctuate annually, depending on the reproduction in Africa: in 1955, there were only seventeen records, whereas in 1996, the best year, there were 110,000. It is most likely to be seen in open areas where the vegetation has a mosaic structure, such as waste land, fallow ground and pasture land. It uses various species of Carduus, Arctium and Cirsium both as larval foodplant and as a source of nectar.
Bron
Auteur(s)
Wynhoff, I., Groenendijk, D., Swaay, C. van, Bosveld, M., Bos, F.
Publicatie
- Bos, F., M. Bosveld, D. Groenendijk, C. van Swaay & I. Wynhoff 2006. De dagvlinders van Nederland, verspreiding en bescherming. Nederlandse Fauna 7. De Vlinderstichting, Wageningen en Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum Naturalis, European Invertebrate Survey, Nederland.