  the small tortoiseshell (aglais urticae l.) is a colourful eurasian butterfly in the family nymphalidae. ==description== it is a medium-sized butterfly that is mainly reddish-orange in colour, with black and yellow markings on the forewings as well as a ring of blue spots around the edge of the wings. it has a wingspan ranging from 4.5-6.2&nbsp;cm. the small tortoiseshell is the national butterfly of denmark ==range== it is found throughout temperate europe, asia minor, central asia, siberia, china, mongolia, korea and japan, wherever common nettle which their larvae feed on is found. there are a few records from new york city which, however, are believed to be of introduced insects. ==subspecies== *a. u. urticae (linnaeus, 1758) europe, w.siberia - altai *a. u. polaris (staudinger, 1871) north europe, siberia, russian far east *a. u. turcica (staudinger, 1871) south europe, caucasus, transcaucasia, kopet dagh, middle asia *a. u. baicalensis (kleinschmidt, 1929) sayan, transbaikalia *a. u. eximia (sheljuzhko, 1919) amur, ussuri *a. u. stoetzneri (kleinschmidt, 1929) szechuan *a. u. kansuensis (kleinschmidt, 1940) north-west china *a. u. chinensis leech, 1893 china japan korea *a. u. connexa (butler, [1882]) south ussuri, south sakhalin, kuriles, japan the corsican small tortoiseshell (aglais ichnusa hÃ¼bner, 1819) looks very similar; whether it is a subspecies or a distinct species is yet to be determined. nymphalis xanthomelas and nymphalis l-album are also similar in appearance. ==decline in population==  once among the most common butterflies in europe and temperate asia, this butterfly is in very rapid decline, at least in western europe. this decline cannot be explained by the decline of its host plant, because the nettle is widespread and even enjoys the general eutrophication of the environment. the chrysalis is sometimes eaten by wasps, but these are also in strong regression. the effect of other phenomena are still poorly understood (environmental degradation, air pollution, contamination by pesticides). scienti
British_butterflies Butterflies_of_Iran Butterflies_of_Japan Insects_described_in_1758 Insects_of_Europe Insects_of_Iceland Lepidoptera_of_Europe Nymphalini