Sap beetle vs small tortoiseshell

Carpophilus marginellus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Sap beetle is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Sap beetle	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Coleoptera (Beetles)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Nitidulidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Carpophilus	Aglais
Species	Carpophilus marginellus	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Sap beetle and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

Sap beetle

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Sap beetle	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Sap beetle

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Japan, Taiwan), Europe (20 countries), and North America (Canada, 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 20 countries:

🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇾 Belarus 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇬🇷 Greece 🇮🇹 Italy 🇲🇹 Malta 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇱 Poland 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇬🇧 United Kingdom