small tortoiseshell vs Wild sandheath

Aglais urticae compared with Centaurea eriophora

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Wild sandheath is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Wild sandheath
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Aglais	Centaurea
Species	Aglais urticae	Centaurea eriophora

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Wild sandheath

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Wild sandheath
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 sandheath

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Israel), Europe (Denmark, France, Sweden), North America (United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia).

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:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇷 France 🇸🇪 Sweden