Plain Tiger (Danus genutia)

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Tribe:	Danaini
Genus:	Danaus
Species:	D. genutia
Binomial name
Danaus genutia (Cramer, 1779)

• The Common Tiger (Danaus genutia) is one of the common butterflies of Nepal and India.
•  It belongs to the "Crows and Tigers", that is, the danainae group of the Brush-footed butterflies family. 
• The butterfly is also called Striped Tiger in India to differentiate it from the equally common Plain Tiger Danaus chrysippus.
• Wingspan 55-80 mm.
• Altitude: 400-8700 ft.
• Season: January to December
• Very common. W,C,K,E
• Habitat: open country, flowers
• Looking rather similar to the Plain Tiger in flight
• For both this and the species Plain Tiger, the males have an extra lower discal spot on thee hind-wing, showing both above and below.
• The above photo is of a male.
• The butterfly closely resembles the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) of the Americas. The wingspan is 75 to 95 mm.
•  Both sexes of the butterfly have tawny wings with veins marked with broad black bands. The female^{[verification needed]} has a pouch on the hindwing. The margins of the wings are black with two rows of white spots. The underside of the wings resembles the upperside but is paler in colouration. 
• The male Common Tiger has a prominent black-and-white spot on the underside of the hindwing. In drier regions the tawny part of the hindwing pales and approaches white in colour making it very similar to the White Tiger (D. melanippus).
• This butterfly occurs in scrub jungles, fallowland adjacent to habitation, dry and moist deciduous forests, preferring areas of moderate to heavy rainfall.
•  Also occurs in degraded hill slopes and ridges, both, bare or denuded, and, those covered with secondary growth.While it is a strong flier, it never flies rapidly or high. 
• It has stronger and faster strokes than the Plain Tiger. 
• The butterfly ranges forth in search of its host and nectar plants. 
• It visits gardens where it nectars on the flowers of Adelocaryum, Cosmos, Celosia, Lantana, Zinnia and similar flowers.
• This butterfly lays its egg singly under the leaves of any of its hostplants of family Asclepiadaceae. 
• The caterpillar is black and marked with bluish-white and yellow spots and lines. It has three pairs of tentacles on its body.
•  It first eats the eggshell and then proceeds to eat leaves and vegetative parts of the plant. 
• The chrysalis (pupa) is green and marked with golden yellow spots