small tortoiseshell vs Zapater’s Ringlet

Aglais urticae compared with Erebia zapateri

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Zapater’s Ringlet is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Zapater’s Ringlet
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 same	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Aglais	Erebia
Species	Aglais urticae	Erebia zapateri

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Zapater’s Ringlet share a common ancestor at the Family level: Nymphalidae. (Brush-footed Butterflies)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Zapater’s Ringlet

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Zapater’s Ringlet
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.

Zapater’s Ringlet

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found in Spain.

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 1 countries:

🇪🇸 Spain