small tortoiseshell vs Soft scale

Aglais urticae compared with Physokermes piceae

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Soft scale is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Soft scale
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Hemiptera (Hemiptera)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Coccidae
Genus	Aglais	Physokermes
Species	Aglais urticae	Physokermes piceae

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Soft scale

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Soft scale
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic 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.

Soft scale

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

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 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden