Aglais urticae
(Linnaeus, 1758) · speciesAt a glance
Sources9 archives
Databases and archives Aglais urticae's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation16 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility2 380 482 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI580 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics340 specimens↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinegenome & karyotype↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
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.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Diet & foraging2
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Aglais urticae has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Aglais urticae carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type2 380 482 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions39 of 103 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| DanishLepidopterologicalSocietylocation not on record | 7 086 |
| South Kensington, GB | 3 177 |
| Helsinki, FI | 1 189 |
| Provincia di Livornolocation not on record | 1 104 |
| UMUlocation not on record | 481 |
| Brussel, BE | 396 |
| Kuopio, FI | 269 |
| Natural History Museum Rotterdamlocation not on record | 264 |
| Museum zu Allerheiligen Schaffhausenlocation not on record | 260 |
| SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record | 223 |
| Tartu, EE | 209 |
| NHMOlocation not on record | 207 |
| NCMGlocation not on record | 176 |
| Laboratorium voor Microbiologie der Landbouwhogeschoollocation not on record | 170 |
| Tromsø, NO | 162 |
| Philadelphia, US | 138 |
| Bern, CH | 127 |
| Salzburg, AT | 107 |
| ZMAAlocation not on record | 92 |
| NMOKlocation not on record | 83 |
| Museum Ludovicae Ulricae, Zoology Institute of the University of Uppsalalocation not on record | 75 |
| Frauenfeld, CH | 68 |
| Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiejlocation not on record | 62 |
| NTNU-VMlocation not on record | 61 |
| Edmonton, CA | 61 |
| MZLUlocation not on record | 53 |
| Podgorica, ME | 52 |
| Geneva, CH | 49 |
| New Haven, US | 47 |
| Fribourg, CH | 46 |
| Museo civico di Storia naturale Giacomo Doria di Genova | Giacomo Doria Natural History Museum in Genoalocation not on record | 45 |
| KIRMlocation not on record | 43 |
| Muzeum Górnośląskie w Bytomiulocation not on record | 42 |
| KWPlocation not on record | 39 |
| Dhaka, BD | 36 |
| Gothenburg, SE | 32 |
| Paro, BT | 31 |
| Yamaguchi-shi, JP | 29 |
| Glarus, CH | 28 |
| Durban Natural Science Museumlocation not on record | 23 |
| Garðabær, IS | 22 |
| Obihiro Centennial City Museumlocation not on record | 21 |
| Natural History Museum of Utahlocation not on record | 18 |
| Naturéum — Muséum cantonal des sciences naturelles, Lausanne, Département Zoologielocation not on record | 17 |
| RCMlocation not on record | 15 |
| Nijmegen, NL | 15 |
| Winterthur, CH | 14 |
| Sion, CH | 13 |
| Naturmuseum St. Gallenlocation not on record | 13 |
| State Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukrainelocation not on record | 12 |
| Sanda, JP | 12 |
| CBDClocation not on record | 12 |
| Tallinn, EE | 11 |
| Naturmuseum Solothurnlocation not on record | 10 |
| Kushiro City Museumlocation not on record | 10 |
| Uniwersytet Łódzkilocation not on record | 9 |
| Yokosuka City Museumlocation not on record | 9 |
| Musee d'Histoire Naturallelocation not on record | 9 |
| John May Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 9 |
| European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (EDIT)location not on record | 8 |
| Tomioka, JP | 8 |
| MUZOO - Musée d'histoire naturelle de La Chaux-de-Fondslocation not on record | 8 |
| Copenhagen, DK | 7 |
| University of Kaiserslauternlocation not on record | 7 |
| Auckland, NZ | 6 |
| Oiso Municipal Museumlocation not on record | 6 |
| Cleveland Museum of Natural History, OH (CLEV)location not on record | 6 |
| Blacksburg, US | 6 |
| neflocation not on record | 5 |
| ZSMlocation not on record | 4 |
| Instytut Ochrony Przyrody Polskiej Akademii Nauklocation not on record | 4 |
| Rovaniemi, FI | 4 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 4 |
| BioFokuslocation not on record | 3 |
| Stockholm, SE | 3 |
| RERElocation not on record | 3 |
| Bavarian State Collection of Zoologylocation not on record | 3 |
| Shiojiri City Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 3 |
| Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciêncialocation not on record | 3 |
| Archäologie und Museum Baselland - Museum.BLlocation not on record | 2 |
| Ugentlocation not on record | 2 |
| University Park, US | 2 |
| Toyama, JP | 2 |
| EGBlocation not on record | 2 |
| KSTRlocation not on record | 2 |
| Gifu prefectural Museumlocation not on record | 2 |
| Naturmuseum Oltenlocation not on record | 2 |
| KSSlocation not on record | 2 |
| SGAV-and-NHMDlocation not on record | 2 |
| Porrentruy, CH | 2 |
| Metsähallituslocation not on record | 2 |
| Toronto, CA | 1 |
| Research Collection of Rudolf Tannertlocation not on record | 1 |
| Tokushima, JP | 1 |
| Cambridge, US | 1 |
| Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-UPF), Butterfly Diversity and Evolution Lablocation not on record | 1 |
| Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeumlocation not on record | 1 |
| DFlocation not on record | 1 |
| Iwate Prefectural Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversitylocation not on record | 1 |
| SFRAlocation not on record | 1 |
| JP | 1 |
| Natural History Museum of Neuchatellocation not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Aglais urticae was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.