small tortoiseshell vs tall broomrape

Aglais urticae compared with Orobanche elatior

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while tall broomrape is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	tall broomrape
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Lamiales (Lamiales)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Orobanchaceae
Genus	Aglais	Orobanche
Species	Aglais urticae	Orobanche elatior

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

tall broomrape

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	tall broomrape
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.

tall broomrape

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as 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 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden