grey shoulder-knot vs small tortoiseshell

Lithophane ornitopus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• grey shoulder-knot is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	grey shoulder-knot	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (животные)	Animalia (животные)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (членистоногие)	Arthropoda (членистоногие)
Class same	Insecta (насекомые)	Insecta (насекомые)
Order same	Lepidoptera (чешуекрылые)	Lepidoptera (чешуекрылые)
Family	Noctuidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Lithophane	Aglais
Species	Lithophane ornitopus	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

grey shoulder-knot and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Order level: Lepidoptera. (чешуекрылые)

Conservation Status

grey shoulder-knot

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	grey shoulder-knot	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

grey shoulder-knot

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

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 4 countries:

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