Larvae feed on Asteraceae species, including Cirsium, Carduus, Centaurea, Arctium, Onopordum, Helianthus, and Artemisia.

It migrates from North Africa and the Mediterranean to Britain and Europe in May and June,[10] occasionally reaching Iceland,[11] and from the Red Sea basin, via Israel and Cyprus, to Turkey in March and April.

[15] Research suggests that British painted ladies do undertake an autumn migration, making 14,500 km (9,000 mi) round trip from tropical Africa to the Arctic Circle in a series of steps by up to six successive generations.

These migrations appear to be partially initiated by heavy winter rains in the desert where rainfall controls the growth of larval food plants.

[17] In March 2019, after heavy rain produced an abundance of vegetation in the deserts, Southern California saw these butterflies migrating by the millions across the state.

[18] Similarly, heavier than usual rain during the 2018-2019 winter seems to have been the cause of the extraordinarily large migration observed in Israel at the end of March, estimated at a billion individual butterflies.

[20] Some evidence suggests that global climatic events, such as el Niño, may affect the migratory behaviour of the painted lady butterflies, causing large-scale migrations.

[22] Based on experimental data, the painted lady's migration pattern in northern Europe apparently does not follow a strict north-west heading.

Finally, the study found that the trade wind conditions from Africa to South America were "exceptionally favorable" at that time, which would have allowed the butterflies to be propelled over 2,600 miles (4,200 km)—one of the longest journeys of an insect ever recorded.

During European migrations, the butterflies immediately begin to mate and lay eggs upon arrival in the Mediterranean in the spring, starting in late May.

[30] The "local adult generation" develops during this time, roughly from the middle of May through early June in conjunction with the butterfly progression throughout their flight.

[30] Female painted lady butterflies may suspend their flight temporarily when they are "ready to oviposit";[21] this allows them the opportunity to continually reproduce throughout their migrations.

Upon mating, which typically occurs in the afternoon, female painted lady butterflies lay eggs one by one in their desired breeding locations.

[34] Female painted lady butterflies have been observed to have a relatively "high biotic potential", meaning they each produce large numbers of offspring.

[35] Inhabited locations begin to observe a large influx of new generations of painted lady butterflies in the fall, particularly in September and October.

This reinforces the idea that the painted lady butterfly does not discriminate host plants and chooses mainly on the availability of adult food sources even if it increases the mortality rate of the offspring.

The caterpillars hide in small silk nests on top of leaves from their main predators that include wasps, spiders, ants, and birds.

[40] Vanessa cardui and other painted lady species are bred in schools for educational purposes and used for butterfly releases at hospices, memorial events, and weddings.