dooryard sowbug vs small tortoiseshell

Porcellio laevis compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• dooryard sowbug is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	dooryard sowbug	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Malacostraca (Crustaceans)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Isopoda (Isopoda)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Porcellionidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Porcellio	Aglais
Species	Porcellio laevis	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

dooryard sowbug and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Arthropoda. (Arthropods)

Conservation Status

dooryard sowbug

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	dooryard sowbug	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

dooryard sowbug

Habitat

Typically found in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Japan), Europe (12 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil).

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 12 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom