small tortoiseshell vs spotted fritillary

Aglais urticae compared with Melitaea didyma

Key Differences

small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while spotted fritillary is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	spotted fritillary
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 same	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Aglais	Melitaea
Species	Aglais urticae	Melitaea didyma

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and spotted fritillary share a common ancestor at the Family level: Nymphalidae. (Brush-footed Butterflies)

View Family: Nymphalidae

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

spotted fritillary

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	spotted fritillary
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 fritillary

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (33 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.