small tortoiseshell vs Thatching grass

Aglais urticae compared with Hyparrhenia hirta

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Thatching grass is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Thatching grass
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Poales (Grasses)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Poaceae (Grass Family)
Genus	Aglais	Hyparrhenia
Species	Aglais urticae	Hyparrhenia hirta

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Thatching grass

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Thatching grass
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.

Thatching grass

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Guinea), Asia (Taiwan), Europe (Czech Republic, Portugal, Spain), North America (Mexico, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Brazil).

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:

🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇪🇸 Spain