Mountain Small White vs small tortoiseshell

Pieris ergane compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Mountain Small White is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Mountain Small White	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	Pieridae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Pieris	Aglais
Species	Pieris ergane	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Mountain Small White and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Order level: Lepidoptera. (Butterflies & Moths)

Conservation Status

Mountain Small White

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Mountain Small White	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Mountain Small White

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (15 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 15 countries:

🇦🇱 Albania 🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇭🇷 Croatia 🇫🇷 France 🇬🇷 Greece 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇮🇹 Italy 🇲🇪 Montenegro 🇲🇰 North Macedonia 🇷🇴 Romania 🇷🇸 Serbia 🇸🇮 Slovenia 🇪🇸 Spain