Completed
Plain Tiger Butterfly
Danaus chrysippus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumArthropoda (Arthropods)
- ClassInsecta (Insects)
- OrderLepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- FamilyNymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
- GenusDanaus (Tiger Milkweed Butterflies)
- SpeciesDanaus chrysippus (Plain Tiger Butterfly)
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
44 Verified sightings at Pretoria
1,222 In all 48 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted
About the Plain Tiger Butterfly
Danaus chrysippus, also known as the plain tiger, African queen, or African monarch, is a medium-sized butterfly widespread in Asia, Australia and Africa. It belongs to the Danainae subfamily of the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae. Danainae primarily consume plants in the genus Asclepias, more commonly called milkweed. Milkweed contains toxic compounds, cardenolides, which are often consumed and stored by many butterflies. Because of their emetic properties, the plain tiger is unpalatable to most predators. As a result, its colouration is widely mimicked by other species of butterflies. The plain tiger inhabits a wide variety of habitats, although it is less likely to thrive in jungle-like conditions and is most often found in drier, wide-open areas.
These subspecies are found concentrated in specific regions within the larger range of the entire species. The plain tiger is believed to be one of the first butterflies depicted in art. A 3,500-year-old ancient Egyptian fresco in Luxor features the oldest known illustration of this species.
D. chrysippus is... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Plain Tiger Butterfly in Pretoria
LIVEiNaturalistGlobal Distribution
Parks Where Found
Cities Where Found
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salem | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Karachi | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | |
| 3 | Alexandria | 🇪🇬 Egypt | |
| 4 | Prayagraj | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Hajipur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Rajkot | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Raipur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Jeddah | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | |
| 9 | Coimbatore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Jamshedpur | 🇮🇳 India |
Closest Relatives at Pretoria
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing a Plain Tiger Butterfly in Pretoria?
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Plain Tiger Butterfly sighting in Pretoria on a given day, based on 44 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 26th most-seen of the 274 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see a Plain Tiger Butterfly in Pretoria?
April
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Plain Tiger Butterfly in Pretoria on a given day, against under 5% in July and December, the lowest months.
What time of day is best to see a Plain Tiger Butterfly?
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Plain Tiger Butterfly sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Is Pretoria the best place to see a Plain Tiger Butterfly?
85th of 109
Of the 109 cities where we can rate Plain Tiger Butterfly sightings, Pretoria ranks 85th at about 20%. The best odds are in Salem (India, about 70%), Karachi (Pakistan, about 70%) and Alexandria (Egypt, about 70%).
Which relatives of the Plain Tiger Butterfly live in Pretoria?
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Plain Tiger Butterfly that you can see in Pretoria (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Garden Acraea (about 30%), Junonia archesia (about 30%) and Yellow Pansy (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
Where does the Plain Tiger Butterfly sighting chance come from?
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Plain Tiger Butterfly is recorded against all the insects logged in Pretoria (44 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
