Alder Spittlebug vs Common Three-Seeded Mercury

Aphrophora alni compared with Acalypha rhomboidea

Key Differences

Alder Spittlebug is Least Concern while Common Three-Seeded Mercury is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alder Spittlebug	Common Three-Seeded Mercury
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Hemiptera (Hemiptera)	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)
Family	Aphrophoridae	Euphorbiaceae
Genus	Aphrophora	Acalypha
Species	Aphrophora alni	Acalypha rhomboidea

Conservation Status

Alder Spittlebug

LC — Least Concern

Common Three-Seeded Mercury

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Alder Spittlebug	Common Three-Seeded Mercury
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).

Common Three-Seeded Mercury

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Canada, Portugal, and United States.

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.

Common Three-Seeded Mercury

<em>Acalypha rhomboidea</em>, the common three-seeded mercury, is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, native to eastern North America and recorded from Belgium, Canada, Portugal, and the United States. It is Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List. The plant is a common weed of disturbed habitats, cultivated fields, gardens, roadsides, and forest edges, typically growing in moist, nitrogen-rich soils. It bears rhombic to ovate leaves and small, inconspicuous flowers arranged in slender spikes, with the name reflecting the typically three-seeded fruits. As a wind-pollinated annual, it produces abundant small seeds that disperse readily. The plant has a relatively short growing season, germinating in late spring, setting seed by late summer, and senescing by autumn. It has no significant economic value but contributes to local biodiversity as a host plant for certain herbivorous insects. Biological traits such as precise plant height range, seed output, and biomass data remain poorly documented in standardized scientific assessments.