Argentine fleabane vs Coastal Flat-body

Erigeron bonariensis compared with Agonopterix yeatiana

Key Differences

Argentine fleabane is Not Evaluated while Coastal Flat-body is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Argentine fleabane	Coastal Flat-body
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Depressariidae
Genus	Erigeron	Agonopterix
Species	Erigeron bonariensis	Agonopterix yeatiana

Conservation Status

Argentine fleabane

NE — Not Evaluated

Coastal Flat-body

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Argentine fleabane	Coastal Flat-body
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Argentine fleabane

Habitat

Inhabits montane grasslands and shrublands and Mediterranean forests and woodlands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (6 countries), Asia (9 countries), Europe (9 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Fiji, Marshall Islands, Tonga), and South America (Colombia).

Coastal Flat-body

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

Argentine fleabane

The Argentine fleabane, Erigeron bonariensis, is a species. Inhabits montane grasslands and shrublands and Mediterranean forests and woodlands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Coastal Flat-body

Agonopterix yeatiana, the coastal flat-body, is a small moth in the family Depressariidae native to coastal and calcareous grassland habitats across western and northern Europe, with records from Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden. Moths in the family Depressariidae, commonly called flat-body moths due to the depressed posture they adopt when resting with wings held flat against the surface, are associated predominantly with umbellifer plants of the family Apiaceae as larval hosts. Agonopterix yeatiana larvae feed on wild carrot (Daucus carota), wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), and related coastal and grassland Apiaceae species, inhabiting the open, often calcareous or sandy habitats where these plants grow. Adult moths have greyish-brown forewing with a distinctive pattern of spots and dashes and reach approximately 8–12 millimeters in wingspan. The species is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, reflecting declines associated with the loss of traditional hay meadow management, coastal grassland degradation, and scrub encroachment that eliminates the open, flower-rich grassland habitats supporting its host plants. Agricultural intensification has reduced wild umbellifer populations significantly across lowland Europe, reducing food resources for larvae of specialist moths like A. yeatiana.