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Most similar to the Painted Lady (V. cardui), but annabella has an orange spot in place of the large white spot two-thirds up the leading edge of the forewing of cardui; annabella is also smaller. There are no named subspecies.

The pale green eggs are laid singly on the host plant (Scott 1986). the mature larvae can vary in colour from light brown to black, and bear yellow branched spines (Layberry et al. 1998). Like the American and Painted Lady, annabella occurs occasionally as a migrant in Alberta (although never as abundant as the Painted Lady can be). Layberry et al (1998) state annabella is a resident in southwestern Alberta and British Columbia, but all evidence suggests that it is not able to survive the Canadian winters and appears as a spring colonist from further south (Bird et al. 1995, Guppy & Shepard 2001).

The larvae are known to feed on stinging nettle (Urtica dioica, Urticaceae) and garden hollyhock (Alcea rosea, Malvaceae) in BC (Guppy & Shepard 2001). Almost all other host records are in the Malvaceae (Scott 1986).

Southern British Columbia and Alberta (occassionally straying to eastern Saskatchewan) south to northern Mexico (Layberry et al. 1998, Opler 1999). This species was once considered to be a subspecies of V. carye, which occurs in South America south to Argentina (Scott 1986).