Alpine Bilberry vs small tortoiseshell

Vaccinium uliginosum compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Alpine Bilberry is Extinct while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alpine Bilberry	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Ericales (Ericales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Ericaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Vaccinium	Aglais
Species	Vaccinium uliginosum	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Alpine Bilberry

EX — Extinct

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Alpine Bilberry	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Alpine Bilberry

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found across Europe (8 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

small tortoiseshell

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (41 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Alpine Bilberry

The Alpine Bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) is a species in the genus Vaccinium. It is currently classified as Extinct on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions. Found across Europe (8 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

small tortoiseshell

small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 8 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden