Arctic Smudge vs Cabbage Moth

Plutella haasi compared with Plutella xylostella

Key Differences

• Arctic Smudge is Near Threatened while Cabbage Moth is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Arctic Smudge	Cabbage Moth
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 same	Plutellidae	Plutellidae
Genus same	Plutella	Plutella
Species	Plutella haasi	Plutella xylostella

Evolutionary Relationship

Arctic Smudge and Cabbage Moth share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Plutella.

Conservation Status

Arctic Smudge

NT — Near Threatened

Cabbage Moth

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Arctic Smudge	Cabbage Moth
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Arctic Smudge

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Cabbage Moth

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and temperate coniferous forests spanning the Afrotropic and Neotropic and Palearctic realms.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (6 countries), Asia (Taiwan, United Arab Emirates), Europe (5 countries), North America (4 countries), and South America (Chile).

Arctic Smudge

The Arctic Smudge (Plutella haasi) is a species in the genus Plutella. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Cabbage Moth

The Cabbage Moth (Plutella xylostella) is a species in the genus Plutella. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and temperate coniferous forests spanning the Afrotropic and Neotropic and Palearctic realms.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden