Castor vs small tortoiseshell

Ricinus communis compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

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

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Castor	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Euphorbiaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Ricinus	Aglais
Species	Ricinus communis	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Castor

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Castor

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (33 countries), Asia (26 countries), Europe (23 countries), North America (15 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (14 countries), and South America (12 countries).

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.

Castor

The Castor (Ricinus communis) is a species in the genus Ricinus. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and hi

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 23 countries:

🇦🇱 Albania 🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇭🇷 Croatia 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇪 Estonia 🇫🇷 France 🇬🇷 Greece 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇮🇹 Italy 🇱🇹 Lithuania 🇲🇹 Malta 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇷🇴 Romania 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom