small tortoiseshell vs white ermine

Aglais urticae compared with Spilosoma lubricipeda

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while white ermine is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	white ermine
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order same	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Erebidae
Genus	Aglais	Spilosoma
Species	Aglais urticae	Spilosoma lubricipeda

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and white ermine share a common ancestor at the Order level: Lepidoptera. (Butterflies & Moths)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

white ermine

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	white ermine
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 ermine

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, 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 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden