small tortoiseshell vs Violet Black-legged

Aglais urticae compared with Dioctria atricapilla

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Violet Black-legged
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Asilidae
Genus	Aglais	Dioctria
Species	Aglais urticae	Dioctria atricapilla

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Violet Black-legged share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Violet Black-legged

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Violet Black-legged
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.

Violet Black-legged

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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