Red valerian vs small tortoiseshell

Centranthus ruber compared with Aglais urticae

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Red valerian	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Dipsacales (Dipsacales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Caprifoliaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Centranthus	Aglais
Species	Centranthus ruber	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Red valerian

NT — Near Threatened

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Red valerian	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Red valerian

Habitat

Inhabits Mediterranean forests and woodlands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Cyprus), Europe (20 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Chile). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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 20 countries:

🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇲🇹 Malta 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇺🇦 Ukraine 🇬🇧 United Kingdom