Back in the beginning of the gardening season, my garden, along with the rest of the Northeast, was inundated with Red Admiral butterflies. Now, as the season begins to winds down, we have a bumper crop of Painted Ladies. Both are colorful, with wings that combine white, black and orange.
It is probably better that the two groups haven’t convened at the same time. Students of history know that at various times more than one admiral (red or otherwise) has consorted with a painted lady. The results have been mixed.
Learn more about the Red Admiral at http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Vanessa-atalanta. The same site has a page on the Painted Lady–http://www.buterfliesandmoths.org/species/Vanessa-cardui.