small tortoiseshell vs White-strap Sober

Aglais urticae compared with Aproaerema larseniella

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while White-strap Sober is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	White-strap Sober
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)	Gelechiidae
Genus	Aglais	Aproaerema
Species	Aglais urticae	Aproaerema larseniella

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and White-strap Sober share a common ancestor at the Order level: Lepidoptera. (Butterflies & Moths)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

White-strap Sober

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	White-strap Sober
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-strap Sober

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium and Denmark.

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 2 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark