Fox tail agave vs small tortoiseshell

Agave attenuata compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Fox tail agave is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Fox tail agave	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	Asparagaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Agave	Aglais
Species	Agave attenuata	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Fox tail agave

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Fox tail agave	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Fox tail agave

Habitat

Inhabits temperate coniferous forests within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (5 countries), Asia (Taiwan), Europe (Italy, Portugal, Spain), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), 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 3 countries:

🇮🇹 Italy 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇪🇸 Spain