small tortoiseshell vs truncate barrel-bubble

Aglais urticae compared with Retusa truncatula

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while truncate barrel-bubble is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	truncate barrel-bubble
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Mollusca (Mollusks)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Gastropoda (Gastropoda)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Cephalaspidea (Cephalaspidea)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Retusidae
Genus	Aglais	Retusa
Species	Aglais urticae	Retusa truncatula

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and truncate barrel-bubble share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

truncate barrel-bubble

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	truncate barrel-bubble
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.

truncate barrel-bubble

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.

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 5 countries:

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