small tortoiseshell vs winged prickly-ash

Aglais urticae compared with Zanthoxylum armatum

Key Differences

small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while winged prickly-ash is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	winged prickly-ash
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Sapindales (Sapindales)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Rutaceae
Genus	Aglais	Zanthoxylum
Species	Aglais urticae	Zanthoxylum armatum

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

winged prickly-ash

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	winged prickly-ash
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.

winged prickly-ash

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Italy and Taiwan.

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.