Danaus chrysippus is found throughout most of Asia south of the Himalayas, on most of the islands of the south Pacific, and across much of Australia. This species occurs in many habitats ranging from deserts to savannah grasslands, dry deciduous woodlands, humid sub-tropical forests, gardens, parks and cities at altitudes between sea level and about 1500m. Can be seen roaming on grasses in NEERI campus.

This beautifully bright oriental plain tiger butterfly was first depicted in an Egyptian tomb 3,500 years ago, making it the first ever butterfly to be recorded in history. Its striking tawny-orange colour serves as a warning to predators that this species is distasteful, which ultimately deters predators from attacking. Males are slightly smaller than the females. The males can also be distinguished by the presence of a black scent-producing pouch located in the lower-centre of the hind wing; on the underside of the wing it appears as a white-centred black patch. In addition, the males have a pair of brush-like organs hidden within the abdomen, which are used in reproduction.

All butterflies in this subfamily are thought to be toxic or distasteful to avian predators. Their bodies contain toxins derived from the larval food plants. Any bird that suffers the unpleasant experience of tasting a Danaus is unlikely to attack any similarly coloured butterfly, so the advertising is beneficial to chrysippus - and to species which mimic it, such as Hypolimnas misippus. This form of defence is called Batesian mimicry. It is only effective because the toxic species far outnumber the non-toxic species. If the situation was reversed, and most of the butterflies attacked were palatable, the mimicry would serve no purpose.