Buffalo gourd vs small tortoiseshell

Cucurbita foetidissima compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Buffalo gourd is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Buffalo gourd	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Cucurbitales (Cucurbitales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Cucurbitaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Cucurbita	Aglais
Species	Cucurbita foetidissima	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Buffalo gourd

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Buffalo gourd	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Buffalo gourd

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Austria and Taiwan.

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.

Buffalo gourd

The Buffalo Gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima) is a species in the genus Cucurbita. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

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 1 countries:

🇦🇹 Austria