heath grasshopper vs small tortoiseshell

Chorthippus vagans compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• heath grasshopper is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	heath grasshopper	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Orthoptera (Orthoptera)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Acrididae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Chorthippus	Aglais
Species	Chorthippus vagans	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

heath grasshopper and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

heath grasshopper

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	heath grasshopper	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

heath grasshopper

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, and Luxembourg.

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:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇱🇺 Luxembourg