small tortoiseshell vs Twite

Aglais urticae compared with Linaria flavirostris

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Twite is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Twite
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Passeriformes (Songbirds)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Fringillidae
Genus	Aglais	Linaria
Species	Aglais urticae	Linaria flavirostris

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Twite share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Twite

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Twite
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.

Twite

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden