The painted lady butterfly, also known as the thistle caterpillar, has completed its first generation on soybean in central Iowa. These butterflies are very common along some roadways in central Iowa where they sip on moisture in wet spots or mud puddles. There will be at least one more generation of this insect in Iowa soybean. The butterflies are long-distance flyers so predicting where females will lay their eggs for the next generation is impossible. Thistle caterpillars construct webs in upper soybean leaves, tying the leaves together with silk, and feed inside this protective nest.