The catepillar of the Painted Lady has a black head and greenish yellow body with black spots and branched spines. It feeds mostly on thistles, making a nest near the top of the plant. It can sometimes be found on burdock and mallow. The adult Painted Lady is an orange-pink color and can be identified by four small black eyespots on the margin of the hindwing. Painted Ladies can be found in open areas and grasslands.
Adults sip nectar from the flowers of milkweeds and clovers.
The caterpillar of the Pipe Vine Swallowtail is reddish black with rows of red tubercles. It feeds on pipe vines which contain poisons that are retained by the caterpillar and passed on to the adults making them distasteful to birds. Adult Pipe Vine Swallowtails have long black fore wings and metallic blue hindwings with short tails. The tails have a line of white spots but no red spot at the corner. The underside of each hindwing has a row of seven orange spots arranged in a semi-circle.