plain tiger butterfly

D. chrysippus is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of about 7–8 centimetres (2.8–3.1 in). The body is black with many white spots. The wings are tawny, the upperside brighter and richer than the underside. The apical half of the forewing is black with a white band. The hindwing has three black spots around the center. The hindwing has a thin border of black enclosing a series of semicircular white spots.

Background colour and extent of white on the forewings varies somewhat across the wide range; see Systematics and taxonomy below.

The male plain tiger is smaller than the female, but more brightly coloured. In addition, male danaines have a number of secondary sexual characteristics. In the case of the plain tiger, these are:

The male has a pouch on the hindwing. This spot is white with a thick black border and bulges slightly. It is a cluster of specialised scent scales used to attract females.
The males possess two brush-like organs which can be pushed out of the tip of the abdomen.