red underwing skipper vs small tortoiseshell

Spialia sertorius compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• red underwing skipper is Extinct while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	red underwing skipper	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	Hesperiidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Spialia	Aglais
Species	Spialia sertorius	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

red underwing skipper and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Order level: Lepidoptera. (Butterflies & Moths)

Conservation Status

red underwing skipper

EX — Extinct

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	red underwing skipper	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

red underwing skipper

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (21 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 21 countries:

🇦🇩 Andorra 🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇭🇷 Croatia 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇮🇹 Italy 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇵🇱 Poland 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇷🇴 Romania 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇸🇮 Slovenia 🇪🇸 Spain 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇬🇧 United Kingdom