This American Lady was ovipositing on Licorice in my garden (see larva photos below from a few weeks later). Note the shiny black scaling on the forewings, which I haven't seen before. July 3, 2009.

Vanessa virginiensis - the American Lady. Bear Canyon, off the Ortega Highway in Orange Co., August 10, 2005.

Ventral of the same American Lady, August 10, 2005.

Larva of an American Lady on a Licorice plant in my garden, July 26, 2009. Possibly from the female above.