alder moth vs Coast Groundling

Acronicta alni compared with Caryocolum vicinella

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	alder moth	Coast Groundling
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order same	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Noctuidae	Gelechiidae
Genus	Acronicta	Caryocolum
Species	Acronicta alni	Caryocolum vicinella

Evolutionary Relationship

alder moth and Coast Groundling share a common ancestor at the Order level: Lepidoptera. (Butterflies & Moths)

Conservation Status

alder moth

LC — Least Concern

Coast Groundling

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	alder moth	Coast Groundling
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

alder moth

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Coast Groundling

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

alder moth

The Alder moth (Acronicta alni) is a species in the genus Acronicta. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Coast Groundling

Coast groundling (Caryocolum vicinella) is a small moth in the family Gelechiidae, native to coastal sand dunes and sandy coastal habitats of northwestern Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scandinavia. Like other members of the large and taxonomically complex genus Caryocolum, the larvae are leaf miners or feeders on specific plant hosts in the pink family (Caryophyllaceae), often specialising on coastal species such as sea campion (Silene uniflora) or related plants in coastal dune systems. Adults are small, narrow-winged moths with pale ochre, brown, or grey patterning, flying at dusk and nocturally in summer. The species is associated with open, mobile or semi-stabilised coastal dunes with abundant larval host plants. Coast groundling is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN. However, like many gelechiid moths restricted to coastal dune habitats, it may be sensitive to habitat changes caused by dune stabilisation, scrub encroachment, and reduced management of sand dune systems. Long-term population trends are difficult to assess given the cryptic nature of the species.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden