Ebony Cup vs small tortoiseshell

Pseudoplectania nigrella compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Ebony Cup is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Ebony Cup	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Pezizomycetes (Pezizomycetes)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Pezizales (Pezizales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Sarcosomataceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Pseudoplectania	Aglais
Species	Pseudoplectania nigrella	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Ebony Cup

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Ebony Cup	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Ebony Cup

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, 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.

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 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden