small tortoiseshell vs Spotted Darter

Aglais urticae compared with Sympetrum depressiusculum

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Spotted Darter is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Spotted Darter
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Odonata (Odonata)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Libellulidae
Genus	Aglais	Sympetrum
Species	Aglais urticae	Sympetrum depressiusculum

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Spotted Darter

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Spotted Darter
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.

Spotted Darter

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Luxembourg, and Taiwan. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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 2 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇱🇺 Luxembourg