small tortoiseshell vs Spruce Tooth

Aglais urticae compared with Phellodon violascens

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Spruce Tooth is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Spruce Tooth
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Thelephorales (Thelephorales)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Thelephoraceae
Genus	Aglais	Phellodon
Species	Aglais urticae	Phellodon violascens

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Spruce Tooth

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Spruce Tooth
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.

Spruce Tooth

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, and United States. 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 2 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway