boreal moonwort vs small tortoiseshell

Botrychium boreale compared with Aglais urticae

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	boreal moonwort	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Ophioglossales (Ophioglossales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Ophioglossaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Botrychium	Aglais
Species	Botrychium boreale	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

boreal moonwort

NT — Near Threatened

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	boreal moonwort	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

boreal moonwort

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Distributed across Canada, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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.

boreal moonwort

The Boreal moonwort (Botrychium boreale) is a species in the genus Botrychium. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

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:

🇮🇸 Iceland 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden