Candy Apple Waxy Cap vs Coastal Silver-stiletto

Hygrocybe cuspidata compared with Acrosathe annulata

Key Differences

Candy Apple Waxy Cap is Not Evaluated while Coastal Silver-stiletto is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Candy Apple Waxy Cap	Coastal Silver-stiletto
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Hygrophoraceae	Therevidae
Genus	Hygrocybe	Acrosathe
Species	Hygrocybe cuspidata	Acrosathe annulata

Conservation Status

Candy Apple Waxy Cap

NE — Not Evaluated

Coastal Silver-stiletto

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Candy Apple Waxy Cap	Coastal Silver-stiletto
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Candy Apple Waxy Cap

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Norway and United States.

Coastal Silver-stiletto

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Candy Apple Waxy Cap

The Candy Apple Waxy Cap (Hygrocybe cuspidata) is a species in the genus Hygrocybe. Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Coastal silver stiletto (Acrosathe annulata) is a slender robber fly in the family Therevidae, native to northwestern Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scandinavia. Adults are found on coastal sand dunes and sandy heathland, where they perch on bare sand to ambush small flying insects. Stiletto flies in the family Therevidae are characterised by a slender body, long pointed abdomen, and predatory habits; adults prey on a variety of small dipterans and other flying insects during warm, sunny periods. Larvae develop in sandy soil, where they are also predatory, feeding on other invertebrate larvae. Acrosathe annulata is a habitat specialist restricted to open, sandy coastal habitats with sparse vegetation—environments that have declined substantially across northwestern Europe due to dune stabilisation, recreational disturbance, and the cessation of traditional dune management. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though regional conservation bodies in the United Kingdom have flagged population declines. It is considered an indicator of high-quality coastal sand dune habitats and is monitored through national invertebrate surveys.