small tortoiseshell vs Yabby

Aglais urticae compared with Cherax destructor

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Yabby is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Yabby
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Malacostraca (Crustaceans)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Decapoda (Decapoda)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Parastacidae
Genus	Aglais	Cherax
Species	Aglais urticae	Cherax destructor

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Yabby share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Arthropoda. (Arthropods)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Yabby

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Yabby
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.

Yabby

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate coniferous forests, and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, among 7 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (China), Europe (4 countries), and North America (Mexico). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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:

🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇳🇴 Norway 🇪🇸 Spain