[3] The uppersides of the wings are basically black with greenish reflections and pale green patches on the hindwings, while the undersides are mainly brownish, with red and white spots on the edges of the hindwings.

Males have a pale yellowish-greenish upper abdomen.

Battus ingenuus is present from southeastern Mexico to eastern Venezuela (Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Trinidad).

[1][4][5] Battus ingenuus can be found from low elevations up to moderate elevations in the Andes, at about 900 metres (3,000 ft) above sea level.

In monsoonal areas of Costa Rica, the habitat is known as tropical deciduous forest, where most of the trees lose their leaves at the end of the dry season.