Small Tortoiseshell
Small Tortoiseshell
Insect
A beautiful orange butterfly patterned with black, yellow and a row of blue spots. One of the first butterflies seen in spring, having slept through the winter as an adult.
💡 Fun Facts
- The Small Tortoiseshell is one of our most familiar garden butterflies, with warm orange wings edged in blue spots.
- Its spiky black caterpillars live together in a silk web on common nettles before turning into butterflies.
- Adults survive the winter by hibernating in sheds, lofts and hollow trees, then wake on the first warm days of spring.
📅 Through the Year
- Hibernation:November to February
- Active:March to October
Name Story
Aglais urticae
means “splendour, of the nettle”
What does its name mean?
- Aglais — splendourGreek, from Aglaia, a Grace who stood for splendour
- urticae — of the nettleLatin urtica ‘nettle’
A splendid, glowing butterfly whose caterpillars eat almost nothing but stinging nettles — so the plant most of us step around is this beauty’s whole childhood home.