pink butterfly??

[Dan Salter]

Hi Gill sweetie....im always here lurking ;P x

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by sb003

Thanks. i'm glad you said that. Whilst I thought I had seen a new exotic pink butterfly, I now know from the still pics I took that on both occasions it was a cinnebar. The thing is, it is VERY butterfly-like in flight, and EXTREMELY pink when in flight.

I do think that cinnebars must be doing very well at the moment, probably because their food source (what is it?) is prospering in this damp 'summer'

Their food source is ragwort, that plant so many pull up, their caterpilllars are brilliant too in orange and black stripy colouration

[Dan Salter]

Indeed they are gill....we DO leave any ragwort plants UNPULLED that have any caterpillers on them i promise you that.

[GuyF]

Originally Posted by helen253

definitely not the cinnebar moth...wings are too big in relation to body and the abdomen (if that is the correct term) was really thick and meaty looking on the one i saw...

the link i posted to the scotch burnet moth was absolutely the closest match so far.

i've been reading that they're rare even in scotland...and are only found on mull....

If you saw it anywhere other than Mull, it's much more likely to be a 5-spot Burnet, these also come in forms where there is just a single pinky red line up the forewing.
Guy

[Lonewolf]

Just to remind anyone, the thread is about an elusive, possibly foreign pink and black butterfly so please stop writing about cinnabar moths and 5-spot burnets, it was neither of them I can assure you. It was possibly some American species but my enthusiasm for searching through a load of those is nil.

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by Lonewolf

Just to remind anyone, the thread is about an elusive, possibly foreign pink and black butterfly so please stop writing about cinnabar moths and 5-spot burnets, it was neither of them I can assure you. It was possibly some American species but my enthusiasm for searching through a load of those is nil.

well it was cinnibar or burnet for others and if we hadn't have been talking about them they would't have discovered this!

if your lepidopteran specimen was not one of these then yes it is foreign and you may have to leaf through foreign field guides or be happy with your mystery!

[Minnie]

Monday 16 July, from South Northamptonshire.

Today, I too saw a bright pink butterfly - the pink of a fluroescent pen case, about 2 cms x 3cms with black stripes under its wings. Defintely NOT a Cinnabar Moth nor a Five Spot Burnett. Will ask my friend, whose garden it was in, to look out for it and photograph it. It was still for enough time to do that, but unfortunately didn't have my camera with me!!! SOMEONE must know what it is!!!!

[GuyF]

To be honest I don't think anyone's going to be able to give an id until someone manages to get a picture of one of these creatures. Alternatively, if you got a good view of it landed and you can draw an accurate picture and scan it onto the computer someone may be able to help you, I remember someone doing this elsewhere on the forum and getting an id.
Guy

[Deer Stalker]

As Guy said, an acurate picture would help to resove the issue.

[Jez]

This may be extremely wide off the mark? 78 posts and nobody is sure to these two Pink butterflies. Whats the chances of migrating buterflies from central america reaching our shores or possibly escapies? Heliconius family have a number of pink and black wings from what i've just read and like the nectar from passion flowers which are common enough in britains gardens. Just a wild thought