small tortoiseshell vs Square-spot Deerfly

Aglais urticae compared with Chrysops viduatus

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Square-spot Deerfly is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Square-spot Deerfly
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Tabanidae
Genus	Aglais	Chrysops
Species	Aglais urticae	Chrysops viduatus

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Square-spot Deerfly share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Square-spot Deerfly

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Square-spot Deerfly
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.

Square-spot Deerfly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

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 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden