small tortoiseshell vs sow thistle aphid

Aglais urticae compared with Hyperomyzus lactucae

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while sow thistle aphid is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	sow thistle aphid
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)	Aphididae
Genus	Aglais	Hyperomyzus
Species	Aglais urticae	Hyperomyzus lactucae

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and sow thistle aphid share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

sow thistle aphid

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	sow thistle aphid
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.

sow thistle aphid

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (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 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden