Least Puffball vs small tortoiseshell

Bovista limosa compared with Aglais urticae

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Least Puffball	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Lycoperdaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Bovista	Aglais
Species	Bovista limosa	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Least Puffball

NT — Near Threatened

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Least Puffball	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Least Puffball

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Norway, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden