small tortoiseshell vs Spurge

Aglais urticae compared with Homalanthus populneus

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Spurge is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Spurge
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Euphorbiaceae
Genus	Aglais	Homalanthus
Species	Aglais urticae	Homalanthus populneus

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Spurge

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Spurge
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.

Spurge

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found in 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.