small tortoiseshell vs soldier beetle

Aglais urticae compared with Cantharis rustica

Key Differences

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

Taxonomic Classification

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

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

soldier beetle

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	soldier beetle
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.

soldier beetle

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.

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 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇨🇭 Switzerland