Eyebright vs small tortoiseshell

Euphrasia officinalis compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Eyebright is Endangered while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Eyebright	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	Orobanchaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Euphrasia	Aglais
Species	Euphrasia officinalis	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Eyebright

EN — Endangered

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Eyebright	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Eyebright

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States. Currently classified as Endangered 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 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden