Alfalfa Butterfly vs American Bald Eagle

Colias eurytheme compared with Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Key Differences

• Alfalfa Butterfly is Least Concern while American Bald Eagle is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alfalfa Butterfly	American Bald Eagle
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Accipitriformes (Hawks & Eagles)
Family	Pieridae	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)
Genus	Colias	Haliaeetus (Sea Eagles)
Species	Colias eurytheme	Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Evolutionary Relationship

Alfalfa Butterfly and American Bald Eagle share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Alfalfa Butterfly

LC — Least Concern

American Bald Eagle

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~316.7K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Alfalfa Butterfly	American Bald Eagle
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	28 years
Average Length	—	90 cm
Average Weight	—	5.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Alfalfa Butterfly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Canada and United States.

American Bald Eagle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 10 distinct biome types spanning the Neotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (8 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Ecuador).

Alfalfa Butterfly

The Alfalfa Butterfly (Colias eurytheme) is a species in the genus Colias. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

American Bald Eagle

The national bird of the United States and a symbol of American conservation success, bald eagles have a wingspan of up to 2.4 meters and inhabit forests and wetlands near open water across North America. Powerful aerial predators and scavengers, they specialize in fish but also take waterfowl and carrion. Nearly extinct by the 1960s due to DDT poisoning and hunting, the bald eagle recovered dramatically following pesticide bans and the Endangered Species Act.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇺🇸 United States