slender thistle vs small tortoiseshell

Carduus tenuiflorus compared with Aglais urticae

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	slender thistle	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Carduus	Aglais
Species	Carduus tenuiflorus	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

slender thistle

NT — Near Threatened

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	slender thistle	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

slender thistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Japan), Europe (7 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Argentina, Brazil, 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 7 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇱 Poland 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden