Alpine Dock vs Coastal Silver-stiletto

Rumex alpinus compared with Acrosathe annulata

Key Differences

Alpine Dock is Not Evaluated while Coastal Silver-stiletto is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alpine Dock	Coastal Silver-stiletto
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Polygonaceae	Therevidae
Genus	Rumex	Acrosathe
Species	Rumex alpinus	Acrosathe annulata

Conservation Status

Alpine Dock

NE — Not Evaluated

Coastal Silver-stiletto

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Alpine Dock	Coastal Silver-stiletto
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Alpine Dock

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

Coastal Silver-stiletto

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Alpine Dock

The Alpine Dock (Rumex alpinus) is a species in the genus Rumex. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions. Found across Europe (6 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

Coastal Silver-stiletto

Coastal silver stiletto (Acrosathe annulata) is a slender robber fly in the family Therevidae, native to northwestern Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scandinavia. Adults are found on coastal sand dunes and sandy heathland, where they perch on bare sand to ambush small flying insects. Stiletto flies in the family Therevidae are characterised by a slender body, long pointed abdomen, and predatory habits; adults prey on a variety of small dipterans and other flying insects during warm, sunny periods. Larvae develop in sandy soil, where they are also predatory, feeding on other invertebrate larvae. Acrosathe annulata is a habitat specialist restricted to open, sandy coastal habitats with sparse vegetation—environments that have declined substantially across northwestern Europe due to dune stabilisation, recreational disturbance, and the cessation of traditional dune management. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though regional conservation bodies in the United Kingdom have flagged population declines. It is considered an indicator of high-quality coastal sand dune habitats and is monitored through national invertebrate surveys.