small tortoiseshell vs spear grass

Aglais urticae compared with Nassella hyalina

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while spear grass is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	spear grass
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Poales (Grasses)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Poaceae (Grass Family)
Genus	Aglais	Nassella
Species	Aglais urticae	Nassella hyalina

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

spear grass

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	spear grass
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.

spear grass

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Distributed across Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, 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 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇸🇪 Sweden