Butterflies of the world come in different colors. From green to yellow, they are found along plants and wildflowers in most regions.
Pink butterflies aren’t as common in urban areas. Many species of pink butterflies live in tropical climates, particularly in tropical forests.
The following species of pink butterflies are found around the world. Only a few of them live in populated areas such as Southern Texas or India.
A representative percentage of these butterflies live deep in the rainforest and are ideal for collectors.
Pink nuances may vary from males to females as well as across the multiple subspecies many butterflies come in.
Partly or mostly pink, these butterflies offer a spectacular sight that immediately stands out in almost any natural environment.
Table of Contents
1. Pink-spotted Swallowtail
Named after its rows of pink spots on the lower hindwings, Pink-spotted Swallowtails (Heraclides rogeri) are present both in Mexico and Southern US.
While active a bit longer in Central America, this butterfly can also be seen in states such as Texas.
It features black forewings and almost completely black hindwings.
2 rows of pink spots are seen on the lower hindwings with additional pin half-moon shapes at the margins of its hindwings.
The underbody of the butterfly may also show pink or red spots.
Even the ventral wings of Pink-spotted Swallowtails show rows of pink spots.
There are at least a few Pink-spotted Swallowtail variants. Red-spotted specimens are a common sight.
Pink nuance – bright pink, dark pink, pink-red
2. Pink-spotted Cattleheart
A species of Central America, Pink-spotted Cattlehearts (Parides photinus) are somewhat similar to Pink-spotted Swallowtails.
These types of butterflies are mostly black, particularly on the forewings.
The black hindwings of the species are contrasted by 2 rows of pink spots. They are seen on the margins of the wings, up to the forewings.
Ventrally, Pink-spotted Cattlehearts are also similar to Pink-spotted Swallowtails.
They show multiple pink spots on the underside plus additional rows of pink spots on the wings.
A metallic iridescence makes Pink-spotted Cattlehearts distinct. This is a species that shows blue or green metallic iridescence on its black wings and body.
While common, this butterfly is rarely spotted in urban areas as it prefers the moist woodlands of Nicaragua, Honduras, and other nearby states.
Pink nuance – dark pink, pink-red
3. Pink-spotted Windmill
Some black butterflies with pink spots are known for their small pink spots on the hindwings.
While Pink-spotted Windmills (Byasa impediens) are this type of butterfly, they have large pink spots on their tail-shaped hindwings.
This is a species with very large, usually bright pink, spots on its wings.
Its forewings show mostly black nuances with visible black veins.
Pink-spotted Widnmils additionally exhibit a mostly pink body with a few visible black spots.
Native to Taiwan, this is one of the large pink butterflies of the world. It grows to a wingspan of 3-4 inches.
Pink nuance – bright pink, dark pink
4. Pink Acraea
Faded pink nuances are mostly characteristic of Pink Acraeas (Acraea caecilia). These types of butterflies show a combination of pink nuances.
A slight gradient is specific to their wings. Darker pink nuances are seen on its inner wings with faded pink seen on the outer wings.
Both its forewings and hindwings show pink nuances with black borders, black veins, and additional black spots.
Much of this dorsal pattern is replicated on their ventral wings, which are darker.
The body of the butterfly shows a black, pink, and white gradient from the head to the rear end.
Some yellow-pink or yellow-brown variants are also specific to this species.
Pink Acreas are African natives and common in countries such as Benin and Chad.
Pink nuance – pale pink, pink-yellow
5. Common Rose Swallowtail
Dark pink nuances and black represent the main colors of The Common Rose Swallowtail (Pachliopta aristolochiae).
A large type of butterfly that’s mostly black, Common Rose Swallowtails have pink-rose dominant nuances.
These nuances are seen in the form of large spots on the wings, both dorsally and ventrally.
Similarly to other pink butterflies, The Common Rose Swallowtail additionally shows a pink-rose body.
Its dorsal body may only show a few pink bands while its ventral side is mostly pink.
Additional white spots decorate its hindwings, close to the pink spots on the margins.
Pink nuance – rose pink
6. Pink Rose
Native to Southeast Asia, Pink Rose butterflies (Pachliopta kotzebuea) come in both pink and red patterns across their mostly black wings.
This is a butterfly with a black body and black wings. It shows 10 pink spots on its hindwings with additional white spots on the upper hindwings.
While its forewings are mostly black, Pink Rose butterflies show pink undersides with black spots.
A red variant is also highly specific to this species, together with the pink-red specimen.
The pink spots of these butterflies stand out due to their base black color and because they are seen both dorsally and ventrally.
Pink nuance – pale pink, pink-red
7. Common Pink Forester
High color variation and pink colors are specific to the Common Pink Forester (Euphaedra xypete), a species discovered just a few years ago.
This African butterfly is found in states such as Ghana and is mostly known for having pink ventral wings for males and pink dorsal hindwings for females.
Males are darker, showing yellow and black nuances and patterns across their dorsal wings with additional pink sections on the underwings.
Females are brighter and dominated by pink nuances on the dorsal hindwings and the ventral wings.
Common Pink Foresters are a species with multiple margins across the wings and additional black patterns on the forewings.
Pink nuance – bright pink
8. Hebes Pink Forester
Somewhat similar to Common Pink Foresters (Euphaedra hebes), Hebes Pink Foresters are brighter, in general, also showing bright sections on their wings.
The species is known for its bright ventral wings, spotted in a resting position.
It also shows distinct bright pink dorsal hindwings.
Hebes Pink Foresters are mostly yellow and black on the forewings.
Subtle nuance colors are also specific to the species, depending on the side of the wings. Unlike in many other species, its dorsal wings are considerably darker compared to its ventral wings.
A species of tropical climates, Hebes Pink Foresters prefer low to medium-elevation forested habitats.
Pink nuance – bright pink
9. Acute Pink Forester
A species of African forests, The Acute Pink Forester (Euphaedra acuta) has pink nuances both on the dorsal wings and on the ventral wings.
Much of their pink coloring is seen on their ventral wings, which are mostly bright pink.
Yellow dominates the nuances of its dorsal wings but there’s a long pink band on the upper hindwings here as well on males and almost fully pink dorsal hindwings on females.
While yellow and black dominate the colors of the species, there are some Acute Pink Foresters dominated by blue-purple dorsal wings’ coloring.
Pink nuance – bright pink
10. Zaddach’s Mimic Forester
A species tied to mobola plum trees as hosts, Zaddach’s Mimic Foresters (Euphaedra zaddachii) mimic moths.
This butterfly comes in at least 4 coloring patterns, 2 of them including pink.
A common Zaddach’s Mimic Forester pink specimen includes ventral pink coloring which is dominant on the ventral side of these butterflies.
While their dorsal colors can be yellow, black, brown, or even monochromatic black and white, the ventral wings of the species are dominated by bright pink nuances.
Some Zaddach’s Mimic Forester females additionally show pink dorsal hindwings.
Other females have brown-red dorsal hindwings still being generally brighter and more colorful than males.
Pink nuance – bright pink, dark pink
11. Equatorial Mimic Forester
Pink nuances are specific to the ventral side of The Equatorial Mimic Forester (Euphaedra imitans).
This is a species with bright pink nuances only on the ventral wings as its dorsal wings are darker.
Seen only in a resting wing’s position, its pink ventral nuances are bright, as opposed to its dark dorsal nuances.
White and black ventral body coloring completes the appearance of Equatorial Mimic Foresters.
Dorsal colors are split across the forewings and hindwings.
Some coloring differences are seen between males and females on the ventral wings. Males tend to have pink-brown ventral wings as opposed to the brighter pink ventral colors of females.
Black or black with blue overlays is specific to the dorsal nuances of The Equatorial Mimic Forester.
Large white spots may add a bit of contrast to these black wings.
Red, orange-red, or brown-red are among the typical colors of the species’ hindwings.
Pink nuance – red-brown, bright pink
12. Pink-banded Sister
Some of the rarest types of pink butterflies in South America include Pink-based Sisters (Adelpha lycorias).
These butterflies have a dark ventral appearance with a red band across their wing tips.
A brighter brown ventral appearance is specific to these butterflies with a pink band across the wing tips.
Brighter but also mainly brown ventrally, Pink-banded Sisters are among the butterflies with wide pink bands across the forewings, closer to the wing tips.
This is an area that additionally shows darker veins. Black patterns and veins are further distinguished on the wings of this species.
Pink-banded Sister Butterflies are dark brown dorsally, often appearing black when spotted from a considerable distance.
In addition, some Pink-banded Sister butterflies also come with pink dorsal bands instead of the more common red dorsal bands.
Multiple Pin-banded Sister subspecies live in South America as well as in the Southern states of Central America.
Pink nuance – bright pink
13. Painted Beauty
A highly colorful species with some color variation, Painted Beauties (Batesia hypochlora)are large butterflies with considerable pink sections across the wings.
These butterflies show vivid pink areas on the forewings. The pink nuance itself can be bright or dark.
Some Painted Beauty butterflies also show pink-orange nuances or bright orange nuances without any pink colors.
Blue remains the dominant nuance of Painted Beauty’s forewings and hindwings.
Blue-green, azure, and navy are some of the main nuances this species comes in.
In addition, the pink and the blue section are separated by black areas. The wings of these butterflies also stand out more as they have black margins all around.
When it comes to variations, there’s pink Painted Beauty which also comes with bright yellow hindwings.
Still, most butterflies of the species have yellow ventral wings, almost looking like they’ve been painted due to the vivid nuance of the wings.
Growing to a wingspan of just over 3 inches, this is the type of butterfly that isn’t easily seen. It can only be found deep in The Amazon Rainforest.
Pink nuance – bright pink
14. True Cattleheart
8 subspecies of True Cattlehearts (Parides eurimedes) are South American natives.
Living in moist forests, these types of butterflies have slight coloring differences between males and females.
Most importantly, males have considerable pink sections across the wings, especially the ventral wings.
It’s here that their black wings show pink bands and pink spots at the margins.
These butterflies also show black dorsal wings, with contrasting red and yellow-green sections.
The underbody of the butterfly is also mostly pink while its dorsal body is mostly black.
The tropical species also stands out with its slightly transparent forewings in some subspecies.
A central transparent section of the wings is backed by black margins and red spots along the lower forewings.
Pink nuance – bright pink
15. Ruby Spotted Swallowtail
While mostly a tropical species, Ruby Spotted Swallowtails (Papilio anchisiades) are among the few pink butterflies occasionally venturing into The United States.
This is a species with color variation depending on its region.
Most Ruby Spotted Swallowtails have black wings with pink spots both dorsally and ventrally.
Dominated by black, this is a species that has pink decoration on its hindwings as well as pink and red spots on its ventral wings.
Some Ruby Spotted Swallowtails (such as specimens in Peru) have red spots on mostly black dorsal wings.
These butterflies are often spotted along a vast range of citrus-family plants where they lay red or pink-purple eggs.
Pink nuance – bright pink, dark pink