Asian Bittersweet vs small tortoiseshell

Celastrus orbiculatus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Asian Bittersweet is Not Evaluated while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Asian Bittersweet	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Celastrales (Celastrales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Celastraceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Celastrus	Aglais
Species	Celastrus orbiculatus	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Asian Bittersweet

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Asian Bittersweet	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Asian Bittersweet

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (7 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

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.

Asian Bittersweet

Asian bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) is a species in the genus Celastrus. 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 7 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇷 France 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom