small tortoiseshell vs Wild Asparagus

Aglais urticae compared with Asparagus acutifolius

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Wild Asparagus is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Wild Asparagus
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Asparagales (Asparagales)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Asparagaceae
Genus	Aglais	Asparagus
Species	Aglais urticae	Asparagus acutifolius

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Wild Asparagus

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Wild Asparagus
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.

Wild Asparagus

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Poland, and Portugal.

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 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇵🇱 Poland 🇵🇹 Portugal