Millions of Vanessa cardui or “Painted Lady” butterflies have been visiting Jordanian lands these past two days with the arrival of spring.

The Painted Lady rainbows butterflies begin their journey from North Africa towards Europe, with its numbers differing year to year according to climatic changes, wind and temperature.

The Painted Lady is harmless and doesn’t damage plants of any kind. Webworms only feed on plenty of wild plants which belong to families like: Urticaceae, Arecaceae, Malvaceae, Asteraceae, etc, and are also considered food for many birds, predators, and parasites. On the other hand, adult butterflies only pass by flowers looking for nectar and thereby pollinating flowers, making butterflies have an important role in ecological balance.

Adult butterflies live between two to four weeks, especially in wide landscapes like forests and prairies, where they mate and lay eggs after a long journey and many die.