Bitter Nightshade vs small tortoiseshell

Solanum dulcamara compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Bitter Nightshade is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bitter Nightshade	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Solanales (Solanales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Solanaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Solanum	Aglais
Species	Solanum dulcamara	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Bitter Nightshade

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bitter Nightshade

Habitat

Inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands spanning the Afrotropic and Palearctic realms.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (India, Israel, Yemen), Europe (9 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.

Bitter Nightshade

The Bitter Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) is a species in the genus Solanum. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands spanning the Afrotropic and Palearctic realms.

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 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden