Cereal Fly vs Colonial bentgrass

Geomyza tripunctata compared with Agrostis capillaris

Key Differences

• Cereal Fly is Not Evaluated while Colonial bentgrass is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cereal Fly	Colonial bentgrass
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Diptera (Diptera)	Poales (Grasses)
Family	Opomyzidae	Poaceae (Grass Family)
Genus	Geomyza	Agrostis
Species	Geomyza tripunctata	Agrostis capillaris

Conservation Status

Cereal Fly

NE — Not Evaluated

Colonial bentgrass

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cereal Fly	Colonial bentgrass
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cereal Fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States).

Colonial bentgrass

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (8 countries), North America (Canada, Costa Rica, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (5 countries).

Cereal Fly

The Cereal Fly (Geomyza tripunctata) is a species in the genus Geomyza. Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States).

Colonial bentgrass

<em>Agrostis capillaris</em>, colonial bentgrass, is a perennial grass in the family Poaceae with an extensive native range across Europe and naturalised populations in North America, South America, and Oceania, including Australia and New Zealand. This species is highly adaptable, colonising tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate grasslands, disturbed soils, roadsides, and cultivated landscapes within the Neotropical realm. It is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Colonial bentgrass is a fine-leaved, low-growing species often used in lawn and sports turf applications due to its tolerance for close mowing and its capacity to form dense, even swards. Its panicle inflorescences bear numerous small spikelets on delicate, hair-like branches, giving the species a feathery appearance when in flower. In its naturalised range, <em>Agrostis capillaris</em> can become invasive, competing with native grass species in acid grasslands and open heathlands. The species tolerates acidic and nutrient-poor soils, attributes that contribute to its widespread persistence in degraded landscapes. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States