small tortoiseshell vs Spitting Spider

Aglais urticae compared with Scytodes thoracica

Key Differences

small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Spitting Spider is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Spitting Spider
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Araneae (Araneae)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Scytodidae
Genus	Aglais	Scytodes
Species	Aglais urticae	Scytodes thoracica

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Spitting Spider share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Arthropoda. (Arthropods)

View Phylum: Arthropoda

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Spitting Spider

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Spitting Spider
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.

Spitting Spider

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial habitats from forests to deserts.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Taiwan), Europe (28 countries), and North America (Canada, 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.