Common Hop Sedge vs small tortoiseshell

Carex lupulina compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Common Hop Sedge is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Hop Sedge	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Poales (Grasses)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Cyperaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Carex	Aglais
Species	Carex lupulina	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Common Hop Sedge

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Hop Sedge	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Hop Sedge

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Distributed across Canada and 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.

Common Hop Sedge

<em>Carex lupulina</em>, commonly known as the common hop sedge, is a perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to Canada and the United States, where it typically inhabits grasslands, wetlands, and forested areas. The species favors moist to wet soils and is commonly found along stream margins, pond edges, and low-lying woodland areas throughout eastern and central North America. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, indicating a broadly stable and non-threatened population across its native range. Diet information for this species is not available in current records. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

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.