Small Tortoiseshell

Small Tortoiseshell

Aglais urticae

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Novosibirsk

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

84 Verified sightings at Novosibirsk
1,763 In all 21 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Small Tortoiseshell

The small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is a colourful Eurasian butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Adults feed on nectar and may hibernate over winter; in warmer climates they may have two broods in a season. While the dorsal surface of the wings is vividly marked, the ventral surface is drab, providing camouflage. Eggs are laid on the common nettle, on which the larvae feed.

It is a medium-sized butterfly that is mainly reddish orange, 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 to 6.2 cm. A bright foxy red ground-colour; the forewing with 3 black costal spots, whose interspaces are yellow, there being a larger black spot in the middle of the hindmarginal area and two smaller ones in the disc between the 3 radial and 2 median; hindwing with the basal half black; both wings with black submarginal band bearing blue spots. Underside of the forewing ochreous, with the costal spots as above, the apex and distal margin blackish; hindwing brown, basal half black with dentate edge, the whole surface with darker pencilling; at the distal margin... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~50%
2 Hohe Tauern National Park 🇦🇹 Austria
~50%
3 Tatra National Park 🇸🇰 Slovakia
~40%
4 Vanoise National Park 🇫🇷 France
~40%
5 Picos de Europa National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~40%
6 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
~40%
7 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
8 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~30%
9 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
~30%
10 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
11 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~30%
12 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
13 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~30%
14 Biebrza National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~20%
15 Gauja National Park 🇱🇻 Latvia
~20%
16 Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
17 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~20%
18 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~20%
19 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
20 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
21 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ulaanbaatar 🇲🇳 Mongolia
~80%
2 Helsinki 🇫🇮 Finland
~30%
3 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
4 Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
5 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
6 Dublin 🇮🇪 Ireland
~30%
7 Leeds 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
8 Copenhagen 🇩🇰 Denmark
~20%
9 Novosibirsk 🇷🇺 Russia
~20%
10 Munich 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Small Tortoiseshell in Novosibirsk?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Small Tortoiseshell sighting in Novosibirsk on a given day, based on 84 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 216 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Small Tortoiseshell in Novosibirsk?

April

In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Small Tortoiseshell in Novosibirsk on a given day, against under 5% in October to March, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Small Tortoiseshell?

Between 11 am and 2 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Small Tortoiseshell sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Novosibirsk the best place to see a Small Tortoiseshell?

9th of 30

Of the 30 cities where we can rate Small Tortoiseshell sightings, Novosibirsk ranks 9th at about 20%. The best odds are in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia, about 80%), Helsinki (Finland, about 30%) and Birmingham (United Kingdom, about 30%).

Where does the Small Tortoiseshell sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Small Tortoiseshell is recorded against all the insects logged in Novosibirsk (84 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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