The Small Tortoiseshell may have been present on Earth longer than any other butterfly species - a mid-Miocene fossil of Aglais karaganica estimated at 15 million years old is so similar to the modern day Aglais urticae as to be virtually indistinguishable!

Commonly, the Small Tortoiseshell has a single breed each year. Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly (Aglais urticae) Seen as one of our commonest and successful garden butterflies, the small Tortoiseshell is widespread, and may be seen across all parts of Britain and Ireland, often around patches of nettles or nectaring on wild flowers like, Dandelion, Thistles, Marjoram, Ragwort, and Buddleia in late summer. In 2015 I hardly spotted this butterfly at all. Download this free picture about Small-Tortoiseshell Butterfly from Pixabay's vast library of public domain images and videos. In summer 2016 the species has taken a great leap back. The small tortoiseshell butterfly belongs to the family Nymphalidae, this colorful beauty can be found in gardens across Ireland and Britain. The Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly, Aglais urticae, is one of the most common butterflies recorded throughout much of the British Isles and Europe. It is on the wing throughout the year, having two or three broods and overwintering as an adult. The small tortoiseshell is a medium-sized, pretty butterfly that is common in gardens where it feeds on buddleia and other flowers. Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly - Aglais urticae. Adults emerge from hibernation on the first warm spring days and look for mates. The Small Tortoiseshell is one of our most-familiar butterflies, appearing in gardens throughout the British Isles. Fears are growing for the small tortoiseshell butterfly after this once-common garden insect continued its baffling decline despite the hot summer proving a boon to most species. If the species distribution is shown, the National Grid and the Irish National Grid each consist of a number of 100 x 100 kilometre grid squares and the distribution is shown at a resolution of 10km. The Small Tortoiseshell is among the most well-known butterflies in Britain and Ireland.

The tortoiseshell butterfly is orange to reddish with forewings that have yellow and black margins with the edges of the wings having blue ring spots.

One of the commoner garden butterflies throughout the UK, the small tortoiseshell is bright orange and black with a row of blue crescents around the wing edges. The butterfly occurs in a wide variety of habitats including gardens and open countryside where the larval food plant is nettle. Phylum: Arthropoda - Class: Insecta - Order: Lepidoptera - Family: Nymphalidae This is one of the few butterflies that hibernate as adults, and you may come across them indoors in the dead of winter. It is one of the first butterflies to be seen in spring and in the autumn it often visits garden flowers in large numbers. Underneath, they are camouflaged dark grey and brown. Building a Community of Responsible Butterfly Enthusiasts in Britain & Ireland. Unfortunately, this butterfly has suffered a worrying decline, especially in the south, over the last few years. When it looks for a safe place to hibernate, the small tortoiseshell will often hide away in an outhouse or shed, so our gardens offer great refuges for them through the winter. One butterfly which regularly over-winters in Britain is the small tortoiseshell. 439 Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly stock pictures and images Browse 439 small tortoiseshell butterfly stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. My first graph is a plot of the weekly counts over the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme period which is conducted by the National Biodiversity Data Centre and runs from 1 st April to 30 th September. After two bad years the Small Tortoiseshell has declined in population. The caterpillars feed on common nettle.