Blue-tailed Emerald vs Clover Cutworm

Chlorostilbon mellisugus compared with Anarta trifolii

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blue-tailed Emerald	Clover Cutworm
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Trochilidae	Noctuidae
Genus	Chlorostilbon	Anarta
Species	Chlorostilbon mellisugus	Anarta trifolii

Evolutionary Relationship

Blue-tailed Emerald and Clover Cutworm share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Blue-tailed Emerald

LC — Least Concern

Clover Cutworm

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blue-tailed Emerald	Clover Cutworm
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blue-tailed Emerald

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Clover Cutworm

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests and deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Cabo Verde), Asia (Yemen), Europe (4 countries), and North America (Canada, United States).

Blue-tailed Emerald

A small, jewel-like hummingbird named for the brilliant blue-green iridescence of the tail feathers, male blue-tailed emeralds display glittering green plumage throughout with a contrasting deep blue-green forked tail. Found in lowland tropical forest edges, savannas, and gardens from Venezuela and Colombia east to Trinidad and south to Bolivia and Brazil. They are common in disturbed and secondary habitats, making them relatively resilient to habitat modification compared to more specialized hummingbirds.

Clover Cutworm

The clover cutworm (Anarta trifolii) is a noctuid moth in the family Noctuidae, order Lepidoptera, with a wide distribution spanning Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. The species has a characteristic cutworm larva that severs plant stems near the soil surface or feeds on leaves and developing seeds, causing significant damage to crops. Primary host plants include clover (Trifolium), alfalfa, beet, and various other broadleaf crops and weeds, making A. trifolii an agricultural pest of moderate to significant importance in affected regions. Adults are brownish-grey moths with subtle wing patterns typical of the noctuidae family, and like most noctuids, they are nocturnal and attracted to light sources. The species is highly mobile, with adults capable of long-distance migration that enables rapid colonization of new agricultural areas. A. trifolii inhabits a broad range of open habitats including agricultural fields, meadows, steppes, and disturbed grasslands across its extensive range. Its polyphagous larval diet and migratory adult behavior contribute to its wide geographic range spanning multiple continents. In Europe, it is found from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia; in North America it occurs in both Canada and the United States. A. trifolii is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with populations considered stable and the species benefiting from the widespread availability of agricultural host plants. Natural enemies include parasitoid wasps and tachinid flies, along with pathogens including nuclear polyhedrosis viruses used in biological control.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway