small tortoiseshell vs Trashline orbweaver

Aglais urticae compared with Cyclosa oculata

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Trashline orbweaver
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Araneae (Araneae)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Araneidae
Genus	Aglais	Cyclosa
Species	Aglais urticae	Cyclosa oculata

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Trashline orbweaver share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Arthropoda. (Arthropods)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Trashline orbweaver

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Trashline orbweaver
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.

Trashline orbweaver

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial habitats from forests to deserts.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, and United States. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇸🇪 Sweden