Greater dodder vs small tortoiseshell

Cuscuta europaea compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Greater dodder is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Greater dodder	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (plantas)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (artrópode)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (inseto)
Order	Solanales (Solanales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Convolvulaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Cuscuta	Aglais
Species	Cuscuta europaea	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Greater dodder

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Greater dodder	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Greater dodder

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Bhutan, Turkey), Europe (5 countries), and North America (United States).

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.

small tortoiseshell

A borboleta-urtiga-pequena (Aglais urticae) esta classificada como Quase Ameacada (NT) na Lista Vermelha da UICN. Proxima de se qualificar como ameacada, com populacoes que podem se tornar vulneraveis sem acoes de conservacao.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden