cabbage thistle vs small tortoiseshell

Cirsium oleraceum compared with Aglais urticae

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	cabbage thistle	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	Cirsium	Aglais
Species	Cirsium oleraceum	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

cabbage thistle

NT — Near Threatened

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	cabbage thistle	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

cabbage thistle

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (9 countries). 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.

cabbage thistle

The Cabbage thistle (Cirsium oleraceum) is a species in the genus Cirsium. It is currently classified as Near Threatened 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 9 countries:

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