"Melitaea cinxia" has a wingspan of about . These medium-sized butterflies have orange, black and white "checkerspot" forewings. On the upper side of the hindwings they have a row of black dots. The hindwings have white and orange bands and a series of black dots inside them, also clearly visible on the reverse. Females are usually more dull than males with more developed black dots. In Seitz it is described - "M. cinxia" L. (65 e, f). Above uniformly pale yellowish red, marked with black, somewhat recalling a chess-board, the white fringes being checkered. A row of heavy black dots in the submarginal row of spots on the hindwing is characteristic. Excepting the pale yellow black-dotted apex, the forewing beneath uniformly reddish leather-yellow, with dispersed blackspots, which vary in number. The species though of wide distribution, has not developed into many races.