Canker Rose vs Coastal Silver-stiletto

Rosa canina compared with Acrosathe annulata

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Canker Rose	Coastal Silver-stiletto
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Rosales (Roses & Allies)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Rosaceae (Rose Family)	Therevidae
Genus	Rosa (Roses)	Acrosathe
Species	Rosa canina	Acrosathe annulata

Conservation Status

Canker Rose

LC — Least Concern

Coastal Silver-stiletto

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Canker Rose	Coastal Silver-stiletto
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Canker Rose

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (India), Europe (8 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Brazil, Chile, Peru).

Coastal Silver-stiletto

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Canker Rose

The Canker Rose (Rosa canina) is a species in the genus Rosa. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Coastal Silver-stiletto

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.