Gray Alder vs small tortoiseshell

Alnus incana compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Gray Alder is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Gray Alder	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (растения)	Animalia (животные)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (магнолиофиты)	Arthropoda (членистоногие)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (насекомые)
Order	Fagales (букоцветные)	Lepidoptera (чешуекрылые)
Family	Betulaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Alnus	Aglais
Species	Alnus incana	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Gray Alder

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Gray Alder	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Gray Alder

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Armenia), Europe (10 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

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 10 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom