small tortoiseshell vs Thread Weed

Aglais urticae compared with Ulva compressa

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Thread Weed is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Thread Weed
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chlorophyta (Chlorophyta)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Ulvophyceae (Ulvophyceae)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Ulvales (Ulvales)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Ulvaceae
Genus	Aglais	Ulva
Species	Aglais urticae	Ulva compressa

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Thread Weed

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Thread Weed
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.

Thread Weed

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and Oceania, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (4 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), 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 4 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden