Striped Tiger or Danaus genutia is a beautiful butterfly from the Nymphalidae family with striking black linings on its colorful wings. This milkweed butterfly is a common species in India and other South Asian countries.
Photo 1: Exif – f/5.6, ISO 400, 1/640s, 105 mm, Nikon D7100, Micro-Nikkor 105 mm f2.8G, Date- Feb 7, 2016, Location- Thattekad, Kerala
Thattekad Butterfly Garden is a nice place to watch a number of this and other milkweed butterflies. And this photo is from there too. There were two Striped Tigers at the time on the plant while I was photographing it. The other one is also slightly visible in the background. It was a bit difficult to get a perfect angle due to its particular position and distracting eaten leaves. But anyway got this shot with base to apex in focus while the wings were slightly opened. There were other Indian Crow butterflies on the same plant. They also sometimes made small fights each other.
More about Striped Tiger Butterfly – Danaus genutia
This is a large butterfly with wingspan around 80 mm. And is one among the ‘tiger’ butterflies found in here in Kerala, India. Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus) looks similar in colors, but the stripes are absent. So there is no chance for a confusion.
The primary color of the wings is orange-yellow. The veins are lined with black.
The fore wing is black or brownish towards the apex, with some prominent white spots/patches between apex and post-discal area.
Under hind wing is less colorful than the fore wing. The butterfly in photo 1 is a male. Males have a white spot or pouch on discal area; here it can be seen near vein 2. The marginal area is dark brown with small white spots.
Legs are black and body black with white spots. Their flights are usually slow, and are often seen perched on low height plants.
