small tortoiseshell vs spreading threadwort

Aglais urticae compared with Cephaloziella divaricata

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while spreading threadwort is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	spreading threadwort
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Marchantiophyta (liverwort)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Jungermanniopsida (Jungermanniopsida)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Jungermanniales (Jungermanniales)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Cephaloziellaceae
Genus	Aglais	Cephaloziella
Species	Aglais urticae	Cephaloziella divaricata

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

spreading threadwort

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	spreading threadwort
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.

spreading threadwort

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America and South America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (5 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil). Currently classified as Endangered 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 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden