small tortoiseshell vs Upper Crust

Aglais urticae compared with Amaurodon cyaneus

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Upper Crust is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Upper Crust
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Thelephorales (Thelephorales)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Thelephoraceae
Genus	Aglais	Amaurodon
Species	Aglais urticae	Amaurodon cyaneus

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Upper Crust

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Upper Crust
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.

Upper Crust

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across 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 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden