Aglais urticae - Small Tortoiseshell. 40 – 50mm. The most abundant nymphalid species of Europe. If in winter a hibernating butterfly is discovered in the cellar, in a cold out-house or in the loft, it is most frequently just this one. The butterfly often appears flying at a time when the ground is still covered with snow. The Small Tortoiseshell is widely distributed in the whole of Europe and Asia. In the cold regions of the north and in the mountains it can be so plentiful that it sometimes literally covers the blooms of hawkweed and other flowers. In the Alps it commonly appears at altitudes of about 3000m, in the Himalayas it has been observed above 5000m. Local migrations from lowlands to the mountains take place from time to time. This pretty butterfly has adapted well to the civilised world. Being quite harmless to crops and other cultivated plants, they are sometimes reared in large numbers and let out in towns and cities to enliven flower-beds and parks. There are two or three generations a year, and the caterpillars may be found during the summer in various stages of development, massed together on nettles which they frequently strip of all their leaves.
