Bee Fly vs small tortoiseshell

Bombylius major compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Bee Fly is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bee Fly	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Diptera (Diptera)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Bombyliidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Bombylius	Aglais
Species	Bombylius major	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Bee Fly and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

Bee Fly

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bee Fly	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bee Fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and 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.

Bee Fly

The Bee Fly (Bombylius major) is a species in the genus Bombylius. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

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 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden