In any case I would leave it on until it turns a pinkish tan with a hard half dried stem. rather than being almond color.

is that before or after the almond color?

After.

My first butternut is ripe in June. If I left them on the vine until the first frost, it would be six months later! So leaving them on the vine that long is nonsense. Butternut is ripe when the fruit is beige, and the longitudinal green stripes are gone, or mostly gone. It's that simple.

@daninthedirt - what i have read says to leave until the vine starts to die OR first frost.

So, my question is really whether there is any benefit to leaving them on the vine until after they turn beige (assuming the vine looks good and first frost has not arrived.)

Or if it is better to remove it as soon as it turns beige to give the other butternut squash more nutrients/etc.

Well, here in the south, if you wait until the first frost, it could be years! Now, it is often true that the vine will die as the squash is ripening. If the vine is dead and gone, you might as well pick it and hope for the best. I've never seen any value in leaving them on the vine after they get ripe. It's certainly not good for either that squash or any other squashes on the vine.

I've occasionally had vines die while the green stripes are still faintly visible and the squash aren't quite beige. No big deal. They'll still be fine to eat.

The "pick before first frost" rule is an "up north" rule that, I think, saves you the trouble of deciding if it is ripe. I've never really understood it. I think the point is that you may get a frost before they are ripe. If you do, best to have the fruit off the vine.

The issue is storage. The more mature the squash, the better it keeps in storage.

Ripe-to-eat and Ripe-to-store are two distinct things.

That's a good point. I don't have a lot of expertise with that, but my fully beige butternuts last about a year at room temperature.

One good hint for winter squash storage I've learned is, before putting them away, wash well and then dip in water with some bleach added to it. That kills the surface bacteria.

@ltilton- thank you!! that must be the reason I am reading to keep them on the vine as long as possible. it must be the storage issue. I will go ahead and pick that large one once ready and a few more as we plan to eat them and keep the ones I plan to store on the vine as long as possible.