Foxtail vs small tortoiseshell

Amaranthus caudatus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Foxtail is Not Evaluated while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Foxtail	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Amaranthaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Amaranthus	Aglais
Species	Amaranthus caudatus	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Foxtail

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Foxtail

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (8 countries), Asia (11 countries), Europe (27 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

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 27 countries:

🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇭🇷 Croatia 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇪 Estonia 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇬🇷 Greece 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇮🇹 Italy 🇱🇻 Latvia 🇲🇹 Malta 🇲🇩 Moldova 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇷🇴 Romania 🇷🇺 Russia 🇷🇸 Serbia 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇸🇮 Slovenia 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇺🇦 Ukraine 🇬🇧 United Kingdom