Scarce tortoiseshell

Weight

Not recorded

Length

Not recorded

Wingspan

5.6 cm – 7 cm

Lifespan

Not recorded

Main food

Not recorded

Habitat

forest

Young per litter or clutch

Not recorded

On the wing

All year

Generations a year

One

Larval food plants

Salicaceae family

Conservation status

Not recorded

Countries on record

Not recorded

Not recorded

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

1. kingdomAnimalia
2. phylumArthropoda
3. classInsecta
4. orderLepidoptera
5. familyNymphalidae
6. genusNymphalis
7. SpeciesNymphalis xanthomelas ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)

Synonyms Aglais xanthomelas, Nymphalis chelys, Nymphalis grutzneri, Nymphalis testudo, Nymphalis xanthomelas, Papilio xanthomelas, Vanessa cibinensis, Vanessa xanthomelas

Catalogue of Life

LC, Least Concern

Mourning cloak

Nymphalis antiopa

Nymphalidae

L

Large tortoiseshell

Nymphalis polychloros

NymphalidaeNo free photo yet

C

California tortoiseshell

Nymphalis californica

NymphalidaeNo free photo yet

N

Nymphalis comma

NymphalidaeNo free photo yet

N

Nymphalis faunus

NymphalidaeNo free photo yet

N

Nymphalis interrogationis

NymphalidaeNo free photo yet

CompareScarce tortoiseshell vs Mourning cloakScarce tortoiseshell vs Large tortoiseshellScarce tortoiseshell vs California tortoiseshellScarce tortoiseshell vs Nymphalis comma

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@misc{scarce_tortoiseshell_2026,
  title = {Scarce tortoiseshell (Nymphalis xanthomelas)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/scarce-tortoiseshell},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}