Brown Rat vs Cabbage Moth

Rattus norvegicus compared with Plutella xylostella

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Cabbage Moth
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Plutellidae
Genus	Rattus	Plutella
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Plutella xylostella

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Rat and Cabbage Moth share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Cabbage Moth

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Cabbage Moth
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brown Rat

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 10 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (11 countries), Asia (15 countries), Europe (41 countries), North America (16 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (10 countries), and South America (10 countries).

Cabbage Moth

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and temperate coniferous forests spanning the Afrotropic and Neotropic and Palearctic realms.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (6 countries), Asia (Taiwan, United Arab Emirates), Europe (5 countries), North America (4 countries), and South America (Chile).

Brown Rat

Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus) 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.

Cabbage Moth

The Cabbage Moth (Plutella xylostella) is a species in the genus Plutella. 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 temperate coniferous forests spanning the Afrotropic and Neotropic and Palearctic realms.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 16 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇻 Cabo Verde 🇨🇦 Canada 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇷 Costa Rica 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇩🇲 Dominica 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe 🇸🇨 Seychelles 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates 🇺🇸 United States