Alder Spittlebug vs Brown Knapweed

Aphrophora alni compared with Centaurea jacea

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alder Spittlebug	Brown Knapweed
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Hemiptera (Hemiptera)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Aphrophoridae	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Aphrophora	Centaurea
Species	Aphrophora alni	Centaurea jacea

Conservation Status

Alder Spittlebug

LC — Least Concern

Brown Knapweed

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Alder Spittlebug	Brown Knapweed
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Alder Spittlebug

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States).

Brown Knapweed

Habitat

Inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Japan, Tajikistan), Europe (9 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Argentina, Chile).

Alder Spittlebug

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

Brown Knapweed

The Brown Knapweed (Centaurea jacea) is a species in the genus Centaurea. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States