Orange-Legged Furrow Bee vs small tortoiseshell

Halictus rubicundus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Orange-Legged Furrow Bee is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Orange-Legged Furrow Bee	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Halictidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Halictus	Aglais
Species	Halictus rubicundus	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Orange-Legged Furrow Bee and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

Orange-Legged Furrow Bee

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Orange-Legged Furrow Bee	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Orange-Legged Furrow Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (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 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden