Large Garden Humble-bee vs small tortoiseshell

Bombus ruderatus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Large Garden Humble-bee is Extinct while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Large Garden Humble-bee	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Apidae (Bees)	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Bombus	Aglais
Species	Bombus ruderatus	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Large Garden Humble-bee and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

Large Garden Humble-bee

EX — Extinct

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Large Garden Humble-bee	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Large Garden Humble-bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (6 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile).

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 6 countries:

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