small tortoiseshell vs Striped Ermel

Aglais urticae compared with Ethmia pusiella

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Striped Ermel is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Striped Ermel
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	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Ethmiidae
Genus	Aglais	Ethmia
Species	Aglais urticae	Ethmia pusiella

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Striped Ermel share a common ancestor at the Order level: Lepidoptera. (Butterflies & Moths)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Striped Ermel

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Striped Ermel
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.

Striped Ermel

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden. Currently classified as Critically 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:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden