Blackish Puffball vs small tortoiseshell

Lycoperdon nigrescens compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Blackish Puffball is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blackish Puffball	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Lycoperdaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Lycoperdon	Aglais
Species	Lycoperdon nigrescens	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Blackish Puffball

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blackish Puffball	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blackish Puffball

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Norway, Sweden, and 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.

Blackish Puffball

The Blackish Puffball (Lycoperdon nigrescens) is a species in the genus Lycoperdon. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

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 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden