Arctic bluegrass vs small tortoiseshell

Poa arctica compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Arctic bluegrass is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Arctic bluegrass	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	Poa	Aglais
Species	Poa arctica	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Arctic bluegrass

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Arctic bluegrass

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Finland, 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.

Arctic bluegrass

The Arctic bluegrass (Poa arctica) is a species in the genus Poa. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. 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