small tortoiseshell vs spirea aphid

Aglais urticae compared with Aphis spiraecola

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while spirea aphid is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	spirea 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	Aphis
Species	Aglais urticae	Aphis spiraecola

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

spirea aphid

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	spirea 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.

spirea aphid

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Cote d'Ivoire, Malawi), Asia (Georgia, Israel), Europe (19 countries), North America (Barbados, Dominica, United States), and South America (Ecuador).

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 19 countries:

🇦🇱 Albania 🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇭🇷 Croatia 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇬🇷 Greece 🇮🇹 Italy 🇲🇹 Malta 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇱 Poland 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇪🇸 Spain 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇺🇦 Ukraine 🇬🇧 United Kingdom