small scabious vs small tortoiseshell

Scabiosa columbaria compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• small scabious is Endangered while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small scabious	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	Scabiosa	Aglais
Species	Scabiosa columbaria	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

small scabious

EN — Endangered

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small scabious	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

small scabious

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, and temperate coniferous forests spanning the Indomalayan and Oceanian and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Japan), Europe (6 countries), and North America (United States). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇱🇻 Latvia 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden