Lesser Mountain Ringlet vs small tortoiseshell

Erebia melampus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Lesser Mountain Ringlet is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Lesser Mountain Ringlet	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order same	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family same	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Erebia	Aglais
Species	Erebia melampus	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Lesser Mountain Ringlet and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Family level: Nymphalidae. (Brush-footed Butterflies)

Conservation Status

Lesser Mountain Ringlet

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Lesser Mountain Ringlet	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Lesser Mountain Ringlet

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries).

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:

🇦🇹 Austria 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇮🇹 Italy 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 🇨🇭 Switzerland