Black-Widow vs small tortoiseshell

Geranium phaeum compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Black-Widow is Not Evaluated while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black-Widow	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Geraniales (Geraniales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Geraniaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Geranium	Aglais
Species	Geranium phaeum	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Black-Widow

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black-Widow	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black-Widow

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (11 countries) and North America (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.

Black-Widow

The Black-Widow (Geranium phaeum) is a species in the genus Geranium. Found across Europe (11 countries) and North America (United States).

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 11 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇱🇻 Latvia 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom