Ashy Willow vs small tortoiseshell

Salix cinerea compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Ashy Willow is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Ashy Willow	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Salicaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Salix	Aglais
Species	Salix cinerea	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Ashy Willow

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Ashy Willow	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Ashy Willow

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (India), Europe (6 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand).

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.

Ashy Willow

Ashy willow (Salix cinerea) is a species in the genus Salix. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

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 6 countries:

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