flax darnel vs small tortoiseshell

Lolium remotum compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• flax darnel is Extinct while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	flax darnel	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Poales (Grasses)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Poaceae (Grass Family)	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Lolium	Aglais
Species	Lolium remotum	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

flax darnel

EX — Extinct

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	flax darnel	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

flax darnel

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (China, Japan), Europe (22 countries), North America (Canada), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia).

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 22 countries:

🇧🇾 Belarus 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇪 Estonia 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇮🇹 Italy 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇱 Poland 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇦 Ukraine 🇬🇧 United Kingdom