The Painted Lady, also known as the Cosmopolitan Butterfly, is one of the most widely distributed butterflies on Earth, thriving across every continent except Antarctica and Australia.

Recognised for its delicate orange, black, and white wings, this species is also remarkable for its extraordinary migration patterns.

Each spring, Painted Ladies embark on a northward journey from Africa to Europe, covering impressive distances of over 160 kilometres in a single day. As temperatures drop, they make the return trip south, continuing a cycle that spans thousands of kilometres.

What makes their migration even more fascinating is their short life span. Painted Ladies live only five to eight weeks, so the complete migration takes place across several generations - often as many as six.

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This means the butterflies that begin the journey are not the same ones that finish it, yet the species as a whole carries on this remarkable seasonal voyage year after year.

Have you ever seen the Painted Lady butterfly in person?