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 of both wings contiguous dull blue lunules.
The small tortoiseshell is the national butterfly of Denmark.
It is found throughout temperate Europe, Asia Minor, Central Asia, Siberia, China, Nepal, Sikkim Himalayas in India, 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.
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). Scientific evidence shows that the summer drought is a cause of declining populations, because larvae grow normally on drenched leaves (but hatchlings were even rarer the wet summers of 2007 and 2008). However, before 2000, according to data from an English butterfly monitoring programme, there was a good correlation between reproductive success, the abundance of populations of this species and the host plant moisture stress. From 1976 to 1995, the butterfly had more success in summers that were cool and wet at the beginning of summer than when it was hot and dry. This butterfly may then be sensitive to global warming.
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