False Puffball vs small tortoiseshell

Reticularia lycoperdon compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• False Puffball is Not Evaluated while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	False Puffball	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Protozoa (protozoa)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Mycetozoa	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Myxomycetes (Myxomycetes)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Cribrariales (Cribrariida)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Tubiferaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Reticularia	Aglais
Species	Reticularia lycoperdon	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

False Puffball

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	False Puffball	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

False Puffball

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 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 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden