small tortoiseshell vs vagrant emperor

Aglais urticae compared with Anax ephippiger

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while vagrant emperor is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	vagrant emperor
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Odonata (Odonata)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Aeshnidae
Genus	Aglais	Anax
Species	Aglais urticae	Anax ephippiger

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and vagrant emperor share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

vagrant emperor

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	vagrant emperor
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.

vagrant emperor

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, 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 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden