Early Crocus vs small tortoiseshell

Crocus tommasinianus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Early Crocus is Not Evaluated while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Early Crocus	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Asparagales (Asparagales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Iridaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Crocus	Aglais
Species	Crocus tommasinianus	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Early Crocus

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Early Crocus	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Early Crocus

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (10 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.

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 10 countries:

🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom