small tortoiseshell vs Upright Screw-moss

Aglais urticae compared with Tortula subulata

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Upright Screw-moss is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Upright Screw-moss
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Bryophyta
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Bryopsida (Bryopsida)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Pottiales (Pottiales)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Pottiaceae
Genus	Aglais	Tortula
Species	Aglais urticae	Tortula subulata

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Upright Screw-moss

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Upright Screw-moss
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.

Upright Screw-moss

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries). 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 6 countries:

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