pink butterfly??

[charlieb]

This is a Small Elephant:

[Eliz]

Hi

I found these pages when trying to ID a butterfly that I saw in Folkestone. It had bright pink wings. I am 100% sure it was a butterfly as its movements and settled stance were that of a butterfly.

After hours of serching and some help I found what it was Agrias Claudina Lugens (Nymphalidae, Papilionoidea were my clues). I have discoverd they do turn up from time to time in varying Agrias forms, somtimes from collections or imported plants etc. I don't know if they can breed and or survive in the UK tho, I doubt they can without human help... then again I could be wrong !

This is deffo what I saw and I wonder if its what others might have seen ?



PS there is a butterfly house or two in the areas (within a few miles) and some private collections.

[aeshna5]

As they originate from Peru it's unlikely the food plant would be here ( apart from possibly botanic gardens), but no doubt an adult could survive during the warmer parts of the year.

It's possible some of the pink butterflies seen by people posting on this forum could be escapes but others maybe some of the UK species suggested by others.

[Dan Salter]

Originally Posted by Eliz

Hi

I found these pages when trying to ID a butterfly that I saw in Folkestone. It had bright pink wings. I am 100% sure it was a butterfly as its movements and settled stance were that of a butterfly.

After hours of serching and some help I found what it was Agrias Claudina Lugens (Nymphalidae, Papilionoidea were my clues). I have discoverd they do turn up from time to time in varying Agrias forms, somtimes from collections or imported plants etc. I don't know if they can breed and or survive in the UK tho, I doubt they can without human help... then again I could be wrong !

This is deffo what I saw and I wonder if its what others might have seen ?



PS there is a butterfly house or two in the areas (within a few miles) and some private collections.

Another very likely suspect, however if it is the culprit it would go against nearly all sightings that swear bling the insect was totally pink with no black, blue or other markings. But as with cinnebar syndrome i suspect in flight this is not visible.

[Eliz]

Originally Posted by Dan Salter

Another very likely suspect, however if it is the culprit it would go against nearly all sightings that swear bling the insect was totally pink with no black, blue or other markings. But as with cinnebar syndrome i suspect in flight this is not visible.

Yes, in flight it will look totally pink as the wings are very flouresent and its quite stuning. Only when it landed did I notice the other detail and as you can see those details are quit small compared to the larger shocking pink area.

There seems to be several types and I have also noticed like huntsman spiders etc they dont always get killed off during export on plants and fruit (in egg stages).

Still wherever it comes from be it imported by mistake or escaped from a butterfly house, its quite an amazing sight.

[Lance Morgan]

I'm reading this thread wearing rose tinted spectacles

[pink]

Sorry to add to the misery ,I've just seen this butterfly/moth in Donnington ,Lincolnshire.

Striking artificial 'Barbie' pink and black ,quite small.Not like any of the pictures posted on the threads.Flying quite quickly,quickly lost in the fields.The pink was so bright ,as another post put it as almost artificial it was so striking.

Propose we name it Barbie until it can be identified?.

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by pink

Sorry to add to the misery ,I've just seen this butterfly/moth in Donnington ,Lincolnshire.

Striking artificial 'Barbie' pink and black ,quite small.Not like any of the pictures posted on the threads.Flying quite quickly,quickly lost in the fields.The pink was so bright ,as another post put it as almost artificial it was so striking.

Propose we name it Barbie until it can be identified?.

No because a black and pink "black and pink" butterfly over grassland will be a cinnibar or a burnet moth. It will, honestly ....

[harasseddad]

Someone just posted this photo:



Take a look at the middle left of teh photo. There's a burnet in flight. See how it looks completely pink in flight?

[Dan Salter]

I agree with Gill and Dad.

[jellytotjade]

I saw a bright pink butterfly too! in maidstone kent, not that long ago, when walking down a road it was flying by the bush near the field, it was bright pink no doubt about it! didn't have a black body, wasn't that big! i cant see any relations of the butterfly to the pictures posted on here hmmm
ive searched everyyyy where for it! even on a butterfly site that specialises in identifying species by colour, size, where spotted etc. doesnt seem to think a pure "pink" butterfly exists

sorry to add to the confusion ^^^^ lol

[harasseddad]

Since they're flying at the moment, I thought I'd get a shot of a burnet underwing to show the barbie pink.

[Jason Green]

Good illustrative image there, HD. I'm seeing a lot of six-spotted ones at the moment, which appear small and blackless. I think the Burnets account for a lot of these sightings.

[Dan Salter]

Originally Posted by jellytotjade

I saw a bright pink butterfly too! in maidstone kent, not that long ago, when walking down a road it was flying by the bush near the field, it was bright pink no doubt about it! didn't have a black body, wasn't that big! i cant see any relations of the butterfly to the pictures posted on here hmmm
ive searched everyyyy where for it! even on a butterfly site that specialises in identifying species by colour, size, where spotted etc. doesnt seem to think a pure "pink" butterfly exists

sorry to add to the confusion ^^^^ lol

Try looking at 'moths' instead of butterflies and you will find cinnabar and burnet

[WhiskyBottle]

Did that photo ever materialize

Lots of Burnets around here this weekend too.

[aeshna5]

The Ruby Tiger we saw in flight today looks pretty pink too!

[ewillday]

Originally Posted by harasseddad

Since they're flying at the moment, I thought I'd get a shot of a burnet underwing to show the barbie pink.

Ok, I got involved with this about 6 or 8 weeks ago when I saw this elusive barbie pink butterfly. I gave up when it appeared that no one seems to have a piccy of what I say or any knowledge of what I saw despite some well meant responses. This picture is not what I saw. Unless the picture colours aren't true to real life then this is what I would call crimson and it has other markings on it whereas the one I saw had none.

Before anyone replies, do go to a barbie doll site for "barby pink" and you'll see what those of us who have seen it are talking about. I wish I'd captured the xexexexexexe now but didn't realise it was going to be like this to identify it.

[Woodland walker]

Hi
The Burnet looks lovely - but it is not the pink butterfly/moth that we saw in Norfolk! We saw it flying and also it landed briefly, so I think we would have been able to see the spots when it landed, if not when flying, and we did not see any spots! Also, the pink was brighter than this.
Thanks for the photo anyway.

[cutecoot]

I'm interested to know what shape these pink butterflys are, are they the classic butterfly shape?

[Jason Green]

Originally Posted by Woodland walker

Hi
The Burnet looks lovely - but it is not the pink butterfly/moth that we saw in Norfolk! We saw it flying and also it landed briefly, so I think we would have been able to see the spots when it landed, if not when flying, and we did not see any spots! Also, the pink was brighter than this.
Thanks for the photo anyway.

Hi WW,

When you post next time, please post a drawing of it. Thanks!

[jeremiah]

It couldn't be one of these, could it? Apparently they are day-flying.

Small Purple-barred Phytometra viridaria

Small Purple-barred | Wild About Britain

I came across it while trawling through the thumbnails to identify a (different) moth that turned up in my bathroom.

[Woodland walker]

Hi
Thanks for that - looks very pretty, but the one we saw was a brighter pink than that, and did not have the stripes on.

[harasseddad]

Sorry to resurect this thread, buit check out this ebay item
THE CINNABAR ABERRATION 'CONEYI' BRITISH MOTH on eBay (end time 06-Nov-09 19:24:39 GMT)

I've also been shown a photo recently on a chap's phone which showed a burnet where the upperwings had been so abraded that they were transparent - so that only the underwings showed.

[ewillday]

Originally Posted by harasseddad

Sorry to resurect this thread, buit check out this ebay item
THE CINNABAR ABERRATION 'CONEYI' BRITISH MOTH on eBay (end time 06-Nov-09 19:24:39 GMT)

I've also been shown a photo recently on a chap's phone which showed a burnet where the upperwings had been so abraded that they were transparent - so that only the underwings showed.

Hi harasseddad, I went to the ebay image and whilst its much closer to what I saw earlier in the year, its still not close to "shocking barbie pink".

[Woodland walker]

Originally Posted by harasseddad

Sorry to resurect this thread, buit check out this ebay item
THE CINNABAR ABERRATION 'CONEYI' BRITISH MOTH on eBay (end time 06-Nov-09 19:24:39 GMT)

I've also been shown a photo recently on a chap's phone which showed a burnet where the upperwings had been so abraded that they were transparent - so that only the underwings showed.

Hi Harrassed Dad
Yes I looked at the photo on ebay and agree that it is closer but it is too orange in colour and not the shocking pink we saw. Thanks for pointing it out though.