Small Tortoiseshell (<i>Aglais urticae</i>)

Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

Photo © Kars Veling

Family	Nymphalidae
Subfamily	Nymphalinae
Genus	Aglais
Species	urticae
Authority	(Linnaeus, 1758)
English Name	Small Tortoiseshell

European Red List 2010	Least Concern (LC)
EU 27 Red List 2010	Least Concern (LC)
European Red List 2025	Near Threatened (NT)
EU 27 Red List 2025	Near Threatened (NT)
Habitats Directive
Bern Convention
CITES

Description

The Small Tortoiseshell is a common and welcome guest in parks and gardens, and is sometimes very abundant. It occurs in low numbers in nearly all habitats. Its only foodplant is Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica). The foodplants are often growing on nutrient-rich, disturbed ground in the sun, such as in rough vegetation at the edges of meadows treated with manure or fertilizer. The eggs are laid in large batches on the underside of the nettle leaves. The caterpillars are gregarious, living in flimsy webs until they go their separate ways in the last larval instar. The species forms its pupa on the foodplants. The Small Tortoiseshell hibernates as a butterfly, and can often be found in the cold months hiding in houses or sheds. It is one of the first butterflies to be seen in the spring.

Distribution

Larval Foodplants

#	Order	Family	Genus	Species	Vernacular Name
1	Rosales	Urticaceae	Urtica		Nettles
2	Rosales	Urticaceae	Urtica	dioica	Common Nettle
3	Rosales	Urticaceae	Urtica	urens	Small Nettle

Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

Description

Distribution

Larval Foodplants