small tortoiseshell vs Sycamore Piercer

Aglais urticae compared with Pammene aurita

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Sycamore Piercer is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Sycamore Piercer
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)	Tortricidae
Genus	Aglais	Pammene
Species	Aglais urticae	Pammene aurita

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Sycamore Piercer

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Sycamore Piercer
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.

Sycamore Piercer

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