Painted Lady

Joe took these pictures about a month ago and I am just now getting around to identifying them.  They are Vanessa cardui better known as the Painted Lady butterfly.  It is the most widely distributed butterfly in the world and is found on all continents except Antarctica and Australia.  It was first described by Linnaeus in 1758 and takes its name from carduus, thistle which is one of their favorite larval foods.  (The picture of the caterpillar was taken from the internet, the others Joe took.)