boxthorn vs small tortoiseshell

Lycium europaeum compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• boxthorn is Not Evaluated while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	boxthorn	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Solanales (Solanales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Solanaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Lycium	Aglais
Species	Lycium europaeum	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

boxthorn

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	boxthorn	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

boxthorn

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Croatia, France, India, Portugal, and Spain.

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.

boxthorn

The Boxthorn (Lycium europaeum) is a species in the genus Lycium. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions. It is found in Croatia, France, India, Portugal and Spain.

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:

🇭🇷 Croatia 🇫🇷 France 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇪🇸 Spain