Creeping Thyme vs small tortoiseshell

Thymus praecox compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Creeping Thyme is Vulnerable while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Creeping Thyme	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Lamiales (Lamiales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Lamiaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Thymus	Aglais
Species	Thymus praecox	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Creeping Thyme

VU — Vulnerable

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Creeping Thyme	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Creeping Thyme

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries) and North America (Canada, United States). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.

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 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇫🇮 Finland 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden