Black Cutworm vs Painted Lady

Agrotis ipsilon compared with Vanessa cardui

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Cutworm	Painted Lady
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	Noctuidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Agrotis	Vanessa
Species	Agrotis ipsilon	Vanessa cardui

Evolutionary Relationship

Black Cutworm and Painted Lady share a common ancestor at the Order level: Lepidoptera. (Butterflies & Moths)

Conservation Status

Black Cutworm

LC — Least Concern

Painted Lady

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black Cutworm	Painted Lady
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).

Painted Lady

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Cyprus, Taiwan), Europe (41 countries), and North America (Canada, United States).

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...

Painted Lady

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 9 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇦 Canada 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇺🇸 United States