Brown-winged Starling vs Codling Moth

Aplonis grandis compared with Cydia pomonella

Key Differences

• Brown-winged Starling is Least Concern while Codling Moth is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown-winged Starling	Codling Moth
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Passeriformes (Songbirds)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Sturnidae	Tortricidae
Genus	Aplonis	Cydia
Species	Aplonis grandis	Cydia pomonella

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown-winged Starling and Codling Moth share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Brown-winged Starling

LC — Least Concern

Codling Moth

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown-winged Starling	Codling Moth
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brown-winged Starling

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Norway.

Codling Moth

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Europe (6 countries), and North America (Canada, United States).

Brown-winged Starling

The Brown-winged Starling (Aplonis grandis) is a species in the genus Aplonis. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Codling Moth

The Codling Moth (Cydia pomonella) is a lepidopteran pest in the family Tortricidae, recognised globally as one of the most economically damaging insects affecting apple, pear, and walnut orchards. Adult moths have a wingspan of approximately 15–22 millimetres, with forewings patterned in grey and bronze, featuring a distinctive dark ocellate marking at the wing tip. Females lay eggs singly on fruit or foliage; hatching larvae bore directly into developing fruit, feeding on seeds and the core, creating characteristic brown frass-filled tunnels. By the time infestation is visible externally, significant damage to the crop has already occurred. Originally native to Eurasia, Cydia pomonella has established itself on every continent where pome fruits are cultivated, including North America, South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, facilitated by trade in infested plant material. Management relies on integrated approaches combining pheromone-based mating disruption, timed insecticide applications, kaolin clay barriers, and biological control using entomopathogenic nematodes and the granulovirus CpGV. Resistance to organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides has developed in some populations, complicating conventional chemical management. The species undergoes 1–3 generations per year depending on climate. Despite its pest status, Cydia pomonella is not conservation-evaluated.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway