small tortoiseshell vs White Beak Sedge

Aglais urticae compared with Rhynchospora alba

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while White Beak Sedge is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	White Beak Sedge
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Poales (Grasses)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Cyperaceae
Genus	Aglais	Rhynchospora
Species	Aglais urticae	Rhynchospora alba

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

White Beak Sedge

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	White Beak Sedge
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.

White Beak Sedge

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (6 countries), and North America (Canada, United States). 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 🇫🇷 France 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden