Brown Knapweed vs small tortoiseshell

Centaurea jacea compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

Brown Knapweed is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Knapweed	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Centaurea	Aglais
Species	Centaurea jacea	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Brown Knapweed

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Knapweed	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brown Knapweed

Habitat

Inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Japan, Tajikistan), Europe (9 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Argentina, Chile).

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 Knapweed

The Brown Knapweed (Centaurea jacea) is a species in the genus Centaurea. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

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.