Plain Tiger is a beautiful butterfly and commonly found in India. But it is difficult to identify. Danaid Eggfly females mimic Plain Tiger and look very similar.
I was totally confused. How do I differentiate between a Danaid Eggfly female and a Plain Tiger? I did not find a convincing answer online so I wrote to one of the biggest authorities on this subject, Peter Smetacek.
Here is the answer. The arrangement of black spots is different in a Plain Tiger and female Danaid Eggfly. That's why image 1 and 2 below is that of a Danaid Eggfly and image 3 is that of a Plain Tiger.
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| Danaid Eggfly (female) |
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| Danaid Eggfly (female) |
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| Plain Tiger |
Notice the difference between Danaid Eggfly and Plain Tiger. The spots are very different in both the species.
There are two more differences which Peter explained to me over email.
- In flight, the Danaid Eggfly female is much stronger. The Plain Tiger flutters about weakly compared to the Danaid Eggfly female.
- On the upper side, the hindwing border is a very stable difference between the two species.
