Black Laceweaver vs Clouded Cosmet

Amaurobius ferox compared with Mompha langiella

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Laceweaver	Clouded Cosmet
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Arachnida (Arachnids)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Araneae (Araneae)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Amaurobiidae	Momphidae
Genus	Amaurobius	Mompha
Species	Amaurobius ferox	Mompha langiella

Evolutionary Relationship

Black Laceweaver and Clouded Cosmet share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Arthropoda. (Arthropods)

Conservation Status

Black Laceweaver

LC — Least Concern

Clouded Cosmet

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black Laceweaver	Clouded Cosmet
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black Laceweaver

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial habitats from forests to deserts.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, and United States.

Clouded Cosmet

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Black Laceweaver

The Black Laceweaver (Amaurobius ferox) is a species in the genus Amaurobius. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in terrestrial habitats from forests to deserts.

Clouded Cosmet

Clouded cosmet refers to a microlepidopteran moth in the family Cosmopterigidae or related families, likely in the genus Mompha or Cosmopterix, characterized by wings bearing subtle clouded or mottled patterns that distinguish it from more distinctly marked relatives. Cosmet moths are small, delicate insects with narrow, lanceolate wings bearing metallic highlights and fine cross-lines. They inhabit woodland edges, hedgerows, fens, and riverbanks where their larval foodplants occur. Many cosmet moths are highly host-specific, with larvae mining leaves or boring in stems of specific plant genera such as Epilobium (willowherbs) for Mompha species or various herbaceous plants for Cosmopterix. Adults fly from late spring through summer in one or two generations depending on latitude, resting on foliage by day with wings folded roof-like over the body. The intricate wing patterns and metallic scale patches of cosmet moths make them objects of particular interest among lepidopterists, though their small size demands close examination under magnification for confident identification. Many species are locally distributed and associated with specific habitat types.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇸🇪 Sweden