small tortoiseshell vs Summer Groundling

Aglais urticae compared with Scrobipalpa obsoletella

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Summer Groundling is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Summer Groundling
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)	Gelechiidae
Genus	Aglais	Scrobipalpa
Species	Aglais urticae	Scrobipalpa obsoletella

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Summer Groundling

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Summer Groundling
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.

Summer Groundling

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Europe (4 countries), and North America (Canada).

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