small tortoiseshell vs Sooty Shield

Aglais urticae compared with Pluteus ephebeus

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Sooty Shield is Data Deficient.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Sooty Shield
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Pluteaceae
Genus	Aglais	Pluteus
Species	Aglais urticae	Pluteus ephebeus

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Sooty Shield

DD — Data Deficient

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Sooty Shield
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.

Sooty Shield

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

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 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden