The overside of the wings is a bright orange-brown with dark brown markings arranged in rows, which are quite variable in quantity and size.

The male is fiery red, with a narrow dentate black distal border and a moderate number of small black dots and spots, which are dispersed over the basal half of the wing and end with a short band extending beyond the cell from the costa into the disc.

On the underside, which is very abundantly marked with small black dots and hooks, a flexuose subbasal band and a curved submarginal one are situated on a delicately greenish, or yellowish, white ground.

The larvae feed on various plants, including Linaria, Plantago lanceolata, Veronica, Centaurea jacea and Digitalis purpurea.

[3] Melitaea didyma prefers flowery and grassy areas, meadows and roadsides.