Meadow barley vs small tortoiseshell

Hordeum brachyantherum compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Meadow barley is Not Evaluated while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Meadow barley	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Poales (Grasses)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Poaceae (Grass Family)	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Hordeum	Aglais
Species	Hordeum brachyantherum	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Meadow barley

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Meadow barley	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Meadow barley

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Distributed across Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

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:

🇮🇸 Iceland 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden