Cereal Fly vs small tortoiseshell

Geomyza tripunctata compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Cereal Fly is Not Evaluated while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cereal Fly	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Diptera (Diptera)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Opomyzidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Geomyza	Aglais
Species	Geomyza tripunctata	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Cereal Fly and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

Cereal Fly

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cereal Fly	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cereal Fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (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.

Cereal Fly

The Cereal Fly (Geomyza tripunctata) is a species in the genus Geomyza. Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States).

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 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden