Blow fly vs small tortoiseshell

Lucilia caesar compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Blow fly is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blow fly	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	Calliphoridae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Lucilia	Aglais
Species	Lucilia caesar	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Blow fly

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blow fly	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blow fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, 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.

Blow fly

The Blow fly (Lucilia caesar) is a species in the genus Lucilia. 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 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden