blossom underwing vs small tortoiseshell

Orthosia miniosa compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• blossom underwing is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	blossom underwing	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order same	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Noctuidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Orthosia	Aglais
Species	Orthosia miniosa	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

blossom underwing and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Order level: Lepidoptera. (Butterflies & Moths)

Conservation Status

blossom underwing

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	blossom underwing	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

blossom underwing

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.

blossom underwing

The Blossom underwing (Orthosia miniosa) is a species in the genus Orthosia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

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