Black Colonel vs small tortoiseshell

Odontomyia tigrina compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

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

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Colonel	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	Stratiomyidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Odontomyia	Aglais
Species	Odontomyia tigrina	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Black Colonel

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black Colonel

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

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 Colonel

The Black Colonel (Odontomyia tigrina) is a species in the genus Odontomyia. 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, and Sweden.

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