#2567 · 🦋 butterflies & moths
Large Tortoiseshell
🇳🇱 Grote Vos ·Nymphalis polychloros
9 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Markus Dumke · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © Olli Pihlajamaa · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 3. © Stefan · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 4. © Achille Lenglin · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 5. © Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. © Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0
- 7. © Соколков Юрий Павлович · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. © Felix Riegel · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. © qflieger · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
The large tortoiseshell or blackleg tortoiseshell ( Nymphalis polychloros ) is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 148 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 11,801 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Large Tortoiseshell
- Nederlands
- Grote Vos
- scientific name
- Nymphalis polychloros
- class
- Insecta
- order
- Lepidoptera
- family
- Nymphalidae
- sightings in NL
- 148
- sightings in Europe
- 10,838
- sightings worldwide
- 11,801
- GBIF records in NL
- 16,436
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
relatives· Nymphalidae
#2385 📷 8Red Admiral
🇳🇱 Atalanta
Vanessa atalanta
LC 👀 4.7k in NL
#2386 📷 9Speckled Wood
🇳🇱 Bont zandoogje
Pararge aegeria
👀 4.3k in NL
#2387 📷 10European Peacock Butterfly
🇳🇱 Dagpauwoog
Aglais io
👀 3.8k in NL
#2392 📷 10European Comma
🇳🇱 Gehakkelde Aurelia
Polygonia c-album
👀 2k in NL
#2395 📷 10Meadow Brown
🇳🇱 Bruin zandoogje
Maniola jurtina
👀 1.7k in NL
#2397 📷 9Painted Lady
🇳🇱 Distelvlinder
Vanessa cardui
LC 👀 1.6k in NL
#2399 📷 9Map
🇳🇱 Landkaartje
Araschnia levana
👀 1.4k in NL
#2402 📷 9Small Tortoiseshell
🇳🇱 Kleine vos
Aglais urticae
👀 1.2k in NL
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 324088, Wikidata Q163771, GBIF 7762841, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.