Black Clock vs small tortoiseshell

Pterostichus madidus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Black Clock is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Clock	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Coleoptera (Beetles)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Carabidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Pterostichus	Aglais
Species	Pterostichus madidus	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Black Clock

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black Clock	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black Clock

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

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.

Black Clock

The Black Clock (Pterostichus madidus) is a species in the genus Pterostichus. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats. Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.

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 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇨🇭 Switzerland