Alpine Fleabane vs small tortoiseshell

Erigeron borealis compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Alpine Fleabane is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alpine Fleabane	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Erigeron	Aglais
Species	Erigeron borealis	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Alpine Fleabane

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Alpine Fleabane

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

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 Fleabane

The Alpine Fleabane (Erigeron borealis) is a species in the genus Erigeron. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions. Distributed across Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

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 4 countries:

🇫🇮 Finland 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden