Arctic Blue vs Cotton Thistle

Agriades aquilo compared with Onopordum acanthium

Key Differences

• Arctic Blue is Near Threatened while Cotton Thistle is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Arctic Blue	Cotton Thistle
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Lycaenidae	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Agriades	Onopordum
Species	Agriades aquilo	Onopordum acanthium

Conservation Status

Arctic Blue

NT — Near Threatened

Cotton Thistle

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Arctic Blue	Cotton Thistle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Arctic Blue

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Finland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Cotton Thistle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, tundra, and tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, among 10 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Georgia, India, Japan), Europe (22 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Arctic Blue

The Arctic Blue (Agriades aquilo) is a species in the genus Agriades. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇫🇮 Finland 🇳🇴 Norway 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇪 Sweden