Arctic Bentgrass vs small tortoiseshell

Agrostis mertensii compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Arctic Bentgrass is Not Evaluated while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Arctic Bentgrass	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Poales (Grasses)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Poaceae (Grass Family)	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Agrostis	Aglais
Species	Agrostis mertensii	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Arctic Bentgrass

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Arctic Bentgrass	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Arctic Bentgrass

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (Finland, Norway, Sweden), North America (Canada, United States), and South America (Colombia).

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.

Arctic Bentgrass

The Arctic Bentgrass (Agrostis mertensii) is a species in the genus Agrostis. Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

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 3 countries:

🇫🇮 Finland 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden