Least Stonewort vs small tortoiseshell

Nitella confervacea compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Least Stonewort is Endangered while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Least Stonewort	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Charophyta (Charophyta)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Charophyceae (Charophyceae)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Charales (Charales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Characeae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Nitella	Aglais
Species	Nitella confervacea	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Least Stonewort

EN — Endangered

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Least Stonewort

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden