small tortoiseshell vs Touch-me-not

Aglais urticae compared with Melianthus comosus

Key Differences

small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Touch-me-not is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Touch-me-not
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Geraniales (Geraniales)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Melianthaceae
Genus	Aglais	Melianthus
Species	Aglais urticae	Melianthus comosus

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Touch-me-not

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Touch-me-not
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.

Touch-me-not

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Australia and Spain.

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.