Aglais urticae (Linnaeus, 1758) Small Tortoiseshell, Kleiner Fuchs, Petite Tortue (Vanesse de l'ortie), Многоцветница крапивная (Крапивница), Եղնջաթիթեռ
Distribution and biological peculiarities in Armenia: The species is found throughout temperate Europe, Asia Minor, Central Asia, Siberia, China, 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.Armenia is inhabited by subspecies N. u. turcica (Staudinger, 1871), which occupies entire country occurring in all types of habitat, at elevation range from 400 to 3300 m a.s.l. Among host-plants of the species the following are known - Urtica spp., Humulus lupulus, and Cannabis sativa. The species gives two generations per year and the butterflies are recorded on wing from late March till late October.
Population dynamics: The Small Tortoiseshell is rather common almost everywhere, and shows moderately increasing population trend in 2003-2013 (p<0.01), which is most probably result of its high-level adaptability and resistance of its host-plant towards various types of influence. Thus the species is able to survive even in degraded habitats.
Conservation measures: The Small Tortoiseshell has not been evaluated for IUCN Red List and National Red Data Book, also it is not listed in CITES and in Bern Convention. It was evaluated for the European Red Book as Least Concern, the same status that it deserves in Armenia. Taking into consideration that Small Tortoiseshell occurs in all Protected Areas, Emerald Sites, and Prime Butterfly Areas, there is no need for development of specific conservation measures, however it is important to continue its monitoring as an indicator of degraded habitats.