small tortoiseshell vs Wardrobe beetle

Aglais urticae compared with Attagenus fasciatus

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Wardrobe beetle is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Wardrobe beetle
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Coleoptera (Beetles)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Dermestidae
Genus	Aglais	Attagenus
Species	Aglais urticae	Attagenus fasciatus

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Wardrobe beetle

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Wardrobe beetle
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.

Wardrobe beetle

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Japan, Taiwan), Europe (10 countries), and North America (United States).

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 10 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇮🇹 Italy 🇲🇹 Malta 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom