Black Cutworm vs cocoa

Agrotis ipsilon compared with Theobroma cacao

Key Differences

Black Cutworm is Least Concern while cocoa is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Cutworm	cocoa
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Malvales (Malvales)
Family	Noctuidae	Malvaceae
Genus	Agrotis	Theobroma
Species	Agrotis ipsilon	Theobroma cacao

Conservation Status

Black Cutworm

LC — Least Concern

cocoa

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black Cutworm	cocoa
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black Cutworm

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 6 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (7 countries), Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and South America (Chile).

cocoa

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (7 countries), Asia (Laos, Philippines, Taiwan), North America (Costa Rica), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

Black Cutworm

The Black Cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon) is a species in the genus Agrotis. 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 tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 6 distinct biome types spanning the. Widely distributed across Africa (7 countries), Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 countries), North America (Canada, United Stat...

cocoa

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is a small tropical tree in the family Malvaceae, native to the humid lowland forests of the Amazon basin and Mesoamerica, where it originated in domestication by pre-Columbian civilisations — notably the Maya and Aztec — who consumed fermented cacao beverages in ritual and elite contexts for millennia before European contact. Cultivated commercially across the humid tropics today, primarily in West Africa (Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria), Southeast Asia, and Latin America, it is one of the world's most economically significant crop plants. Growing to 4–10 metres under cultivation, the tree bears distinctive cauliflorous flowers — produced directly on the main trunk and large branches — that are pollinated by tiny midges of the genus Forcipomyia. The large, ribbed pods develop on the trunk and branches, enclosing 20–50 seeds embedded in a sweet white pulp. After harvest, seeds undergo controlled fermentation and drying to develop the complex chemical precursors of chocolate flavour. The seeds contain methylxanthines including theobromine and caffeine, as well as flavonoid antioxidants. Theobroma cacao has not been assessed on the IUCN Red List, though wild populations in its native Amazonian and Mesoamerican range face pressure from deforestation. Commercial production relies on a narrow genetic base and faces growing threats from fungal diseases including witches' broom and frosty pod rot.