[Objectives]  To study butterfly color preferences in order to determine the optimal environmental conditions for their captive propagation and utilization.[Methods]  Preferences of adult female and male T. limniace for six kinds of colored lights: white, red, green, yellow, blue and purple, were determined in both the laboratory and the field. [Results]  (1) Males and females were more likely to choose yellow in both laboratory and field experiments. (2) The preference for yellow was stronger in the field, where there were no other light sources, than in laboratory. (3) The strength of color preference of adults exposed to single-colored lights differed from that of those exposed to multiple-colored lights. The relative preference of adults exposed to single-colored lights was: yellow > green=red≥blue≥purple, whereas that of adults exposed to multiple- colored lights was: yellow > blue>green=red≥purple. (4) When adults were exposed to multiple-colored lights, females that had mated showed clearer color preferences than males, a stronger preference for yellow than males, and fewer females than males had no color preferences.[Conclusion]  T. limniace displays a clear preference for the color yellow over green, red, blue and purple. Color preferences were stronger in the field than in the laboratory. Some sexual differences in color preferences were apparent.