Vanessa

Vanessa is a genus of brush-footed butterflies, tribe Nymphalini, family Nymphalidae, order Lepidoptera, comprising 22 extant species along with one known fossil species, Vanessa amerindica, from the Late Eocene. The genus has a near-global distribution across Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Americas. It includes the red admirals, such as the red admiral and Indian red admiral, and the painted ladies group of butterflies. North American species in the genus overwinter as adults, distinguishing their life cycle from many other butterfly taxa. The genus name possibly derives from the character Vanessa, called a nymph, in Jonathan Swift's poem Cadenus and Vanessa, connecting it to the closely related genus Nymphalis.