small tortoiseshell vs Waxy bedstraw

Aglais urticae compared with Galium glaucum

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Waxy bedstraw is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Waxy bedstraw
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Gentianales (Gentianales)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Rubiaceae
Genus	Aglais	Galium
Species	Aglais urticae	Galium glaucum

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Waxy bedstraw

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Waxy bedstraw
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.

Waxy bedstraw

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found across Europe (4 countries) and North America (Canada, 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 4 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇵🇱 Poland 🇸🇪 Sweden