Bitter Dock vs small tortoiseshell

Rumex obtusifolius compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Bitter Dock is Not Evaluated while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bitter Dock	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Polygonaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Rumex	Aglais
Species	Rumex obtusifolius	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Bitter Dock

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bitter Dock	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bitter Dock

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (6 countries), Europe (9 countries), North America (4 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (7 countries).

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.

Bitter Dock

The Bitter Dock (Rumex obtusifolius) is a species in the genus Rumex. 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 9 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇬🇷 Greece 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden