pink butterfly??

[agrumpycow]

Originally Posted by bluetriangle44

Here is the best picture I could get of the pink butterfly I caught today.

I could not get it to open it's wings, so this is the best I can do without hurting it.

Where abouts what it taken, I assume it's not the UK

[Dogghound]

Its a small white. I just dont get the colour must have been stained or dyed. hmm or was it photoshop

[agrumpycow]

Just looked again at the Gallery, it was photographed in Nebraska, USA

[Dogghound]

Ok its not a small white lol

[agrumpycow]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

Ok its not a small white lol

I could see where you were coming from though

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by agrumpycow

I could see where you were coming from though

Apart from the small fact that the whole butterfly was pink and im there saying its a small white

[Dan Salter]

for a moment there i thought this thread was FINALLY onto something with some evidence after all this time only to find somone posting a pic on a british wildlife site about the pink butterfly reportedly seen here in the uk with a pic of a butterfly found in nebraska?...can someone explain the logic or is he just highlighting there ARE pink butterflies? which of course we all know....just not native here in the uk

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

Apart from the small fact that the whole butterfly was pink and im there saying its a small white

Don't beat yourself up Dogghound! My very first thought on seeing that pic was it's a small white that's either been dyed or photoshopped or, just possibly, has a genetic defect. Never thought of Nebraskan!

Dave P.

[bluetriangle44]

Ok guys, I know this is a UK forum, but this is one of the only places that I could find where there have been *real* pink butterflies found!

I am from Nebraska in the US, and am a current student at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, majoring in Forensic Entomology.

Catching, collecting and photographing butterflies has been a hobby for several summers now. In all my time I have NEVER seen a pink butterfly, and I can usually ID a butterfly on-sight down to a family, sometimes even a scientific name.

I can take several more pictures of this butterfly that are 100% authentic.

The pictures are NOT photoshopped in ANY way, shape or form. If I wanted to post something fake - trust me, this would be the *last* place I'd do it!!

I caught it on a Hollyhock flower in my front yard.

It was pink when I first spotted it, and I have kept it alive since. It is now in a small terrarium with padding, a cotton ball with honey & some water. I can and will keep it alive for about 24 more hours, until I either decide to kill/pin it, or let it go.

I am in touch with an Entomology professor at my university, who has a PhD. I will post her evaluation when I get a response.

~bluetriangle44

PS - I swear to everyone - this is an authentic picture - it was a pink butterfly when I caught it, and it still is.

[bluetriangle44]

Here are two more good pictures.







If anyone wants more proof, just say so.

Honestly - all I'm here for is to see if anybody can positively ID this butterfly. I'm not here to fake a posting, or to raise eyebrows over some specimen that you may think I photoshopped.

I understand that this is a UK forum, but if there is anybody out there who can possibly ID this little guy for me - even just a family - please do so!!

[Lance Morgan]

This is certainly a pierid and most likely p rapae (small white). It has either been stained or come into contact with a dye of some sort.

[Lance Morgan]

or...... photoshopped. The degree of pink on the upper wing is not the same on the last two images.

[pressld2]

I see what you mean Lance but the colour difference could be down to subtle differences in lighting or exposure. Slight underexposure produces deeper colours while slight over exposure will wash them out a bit.

Giving the benefit of the doubt for a moment, can anyone think of anything that the insect might have come into contact with that would have dyed it this colour? Some form of crop spray possibly?

Dave P.

[Dan Salter]

Ok this thread HAS got interesting again ignore my previous post....although im still slightly sceptical...but understand the nebraska element now.
Im kind of with the spray/dye thing.....which if its some worldwide used thing may explain possible similar sightings (sadly greatly lacking in any proof or pictures) in the uk.
Could diet be a possible reason? although....nectar is all pretty similar or is it?....didnt a man who only ate ornages turn orange once?...perhaps this butterfly likes to drink only strawberry milkshake?

[thunder]

I'd be quite in favour of the dye theory. Perhaps somebody is doing some mark recapture studies? Or sheer vandalism? Or accidental contact with some legitimate spray/colouring?

henrya

[bluetriangle44]

Okay everyone - here's what I know.

The little guy died overnight. So, this morning I pinned him & spread his wings.

Low and behold, this is a Cabbage White butterfly that has been dyed pink.

There are a few things that could've caused it - one of the most logical is a chemical sprayer. The spray itself is not pink, but the "marker" is. The sprayer puts it's arms out and at the end of the arm it lets off a bright pink foam - thus "marking" the rows where the sprayer has and has not been.

We own 200 acres of farm ground around my house, not to mention the other several thousand acres of farm ground around where chemical spray is used in this exact manner, so it's not hard to imagine where this happened. Corn and soybeans are the primary crop in NE, and chemical spray is used on just about every field.

Also, I took a Q-Tip with a small amount of water and gently rubbed the wings. The dye comes right off onto the Q-Tip.

I apologize for getting a rise out of everyone over something that was not real.

~bluetriangle44

PS - here are two pictures, one with a cabbage white butterfly next to it:

[Dan Salter]

Thanks for clearing this up Blue...

and i suspect a very logical explanation for our british sightings.

However...a degree level entemologist calling it a 'cabbage' white? tut tut

Small, large, green veined, black veined etc are all good ....but 'cabbage' i blame on your mum most likely (and mine)

[bluetriangle44]

Degree level? Uh...no...I'm a junior in the undergrad program. No degree yet

But, maybe it's a Nebraska thing, my PhD level professor I contacted called it a cabbage white as well....dunno what to tell ya.

I kinda feel like an idiot getting all excited over a butterfly that isn't real...oh well, all in the name of science I suppose!!

[Dan Salter]

Nothing to feel stupid about you may have sorted a long running (and very sceptical) un answered thread for a lot of people.

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by Dan Salter

Thanks for clearing this up Blue...

and i suspect a very logical explanation for our british sightings.

However...a degree level entemologist calling it a 'cabbage' white? tut tut

Small, large, green veined, black veined etc are all good ....but 'cabbage' i blame on your mum most likely (and mine)

Bah I still call small whites and large whites cabbage whites, why lose a lovely historical name, I know what they really are - but everyone knows what you mean by that name - it means a white butterfly with black bits.

I also call gulls seagulls - now I know there's no actual bird called a seagull but everyone knows what you mean by the term so I still use it - I can understand if you are writing about specific species and groups of species inn academia or even in magazines like British Wildlife but in word of mouth I don't have a problem with it!

[butterflywings]

I'm trying to find out about a pink butterfly...my next door neighbor, found one today...it was on the blue/black salvia plant. She harvests the tiny little
catapillar that is on this plant...it makes a web like mist...and in ten days, it turned into a pink butterfly...She said it was a butterfly, not a moth...It was the tiniest she has seen! She raises Monarchs and Fruitilar butterflies (I can't spell it). Does anyone happen to know what this is? Anything about them? I am trying to help her identify it~! We grow Milkweed for the Monarch butterfly and Passion Vine for the Fruitilar(?). When the butterflies lay eggs, we harvest them by taking the leaves with the eggs, and put the leaves into small holes in the lids of plastic butter tubs, which have been filled with water...the lids keep the catapillers, once hatched from eggs, from falling into the water. The holes keep the leaves fresh, for the catapiller to feed as it grows, and finally forms a crystalist. The next thing, it emerges into a beautiful butterfly....

[butterflywings]

Today my neighbor saw a pink butterfly...the smallest she has ever seen...and I wonder if it may be the one in discussion? She found a small catapiller feeding on a blue/black salvia plant. She put it into a jar with holes in the lid, along with some of the salvia plant...that was about 10 days ago...today it hatched into this beautiful tiny pink butterfly...She could not find out anything on it...
when I googled, I came to this site. She has several more of these tiny little catapillers, and we are anxious to see more of these pretty creatures! If anyone has any more information, please post! We live in USA, northwest corner of Louisiana...today tempertures are mid 80s...

[agrumpycow]

Originally Posted by butterflywings

Today my neighbor saw a pink butterfly...the smallest she has ever seen...and I wonder if it may be the one in discussion? She found a small catapiller feeding on a blue/black salvia plant. She put it into a jar with holes in the lid, along with some of the salvia plant...that was about 10 days ago...today it hatched into this beautiful tiny pink butterfly...She could not find out anything on it...
when I googled, I came to this site. She has several more of these tiny little catapillers, and we are anxious to see more of these pretty creatures! If anyone has any more information, please post! We live in USA, northwest corner of Louisiana...today tempertures are mid 80s...

Probably be better to ask here: Worldwide Wildlife and Environment Forum, you're more likely to get an answer than here which is more about british wildlife

[butterflywings]

Thanks, I posted to Worldwide Wildlife site, and as of yet, no reply! Thanks, again!

[Gaina]

Originally Posted by butterflywings

Today my neighbor saw a pink butterfly...the smallest she has ever seen...and I wonder if it may be the one in discussion? She found a small catapiller feeding on a blue/black salvia plant. She put it into a jar with holes in the lid, along with some of the salvia plant...that was about 10 days ago...today it hatched into this beautiful tiny pink butterfly...She could not find out anything on it...

Did anyone do that experiment at school where you put the celery in water that had been coloured with red food colouring and you watch the celery gradually turn pink? I'm just wondering if something that the caterpillar fed on is responsible for the colour - a bit like flamigoes getting their colour from their food?