small tortoiseshell vs Willow Shield

Aglais urticae compared with Pluteus salicinus

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Willow Shield is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Willow Shield
Kingdom	Animalia (प्राणी)	Fungi (फफूंद)
Phylum	Arthropoda (सन्धिपाद)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Insecta (कीट)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Lepidoptera (शल्कपंखी गण)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Pluteaceae
Genus	Aglais	Pluteus
Species	Aglais urticae	Pluteus salicinus

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Willow Shield

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Willow Shield
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.

Willow Shield

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

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:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden