Brown-dotted clothes moth vs small tortoiseshell

Niditinea fuscella compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Brown-dotted clothes moth is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown-dotted clothes moth	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	Tineidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Niditinea	Aglais
Species	Niditinea fuscella	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown-dotted clothes moth and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Order level: Lepidoptera. (Butterflies & Moths)

Conservation Status

Brown-dotted clothes moth

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown-dotted clothes moth	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brown-dotted clothes moth

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Seychelles), Europe (9 countries), and North America (Canada, 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.

Brown-dotted clothes moth

The Brown-dotted Clothes Moth (Niditinea fuscella) is a species in the genus Niditinea. 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 9 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇷 France 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom