small tortoiseshell vs Spiny Bollworm

Aglais urticae compared with Earias biplaga

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Spiny Bollworm is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Spiny Bollworm
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order same	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Nolidae
Genus	Aglais	Earias
Species	Aglais urticae	Earias biplaga

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Spiny Bollworm share a common ancestor at the Order level: Lepidoptera. (Butterflies & Moths)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Spiny Bollworm

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Spiny Bollworm
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.

Spiny Bollworm

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (9 countries), Asia (Yemen), and Europe (5 countries).

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 🇫🇷 France 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇬🇧 United Kingdom