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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 ~50% in a week ~80%
20 Verified sightings at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park From 2019 to 2026
1,222 In all 48 parks
March 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 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park
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 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing a Plain Tiger Butterfly in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park?
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Plain Tiger Butterfly sighting in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 44 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see a Plain Tiger Butterfly in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park?
March and April
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Plain Tiger Butterfly in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to February, 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 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park the best place to see a Plain Tiger Butterfly?
29th of 48
Of the 48 parks where we can rate Plain Tiger Butterfly sightings, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park ranks 29th at about 20%. The best odds are in Berenty Reserve (Madagascar, about 50%), Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal, about 40%) and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (Australia, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Which relatives of the Plain Tiger Butterfly live in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park?
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Plain Tiger Butterfly that you can see in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Yellow Pansy (about 20%), Mycalesis rhacotis (about 10%) and Spotted Joker (about 10%), 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 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (20 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
