Charcoal Goldeneye vs Clouded Cosmet

Anthracobia macrocystis compared with Mompha langiella

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Charcoal Goldeneye	Clouded Cosmet
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Pezizomycetes (Pezizomycetes)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Pezizales (Pezizales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Pyronemataceae	Momphidae
Genus	Anthracobia	Mompha
Species	Anthracobia macrocystis	Mompha langiella

Conservation Status

Charcoal Goldeneye

LC — Least Concern

Clouded Cosmet

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Charcoal Goldeneye	Clouded Cosmet
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Charcoal Goldeneye

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.

Clouded Cosmet

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Charcoal Goldeneye

The Charcoal Goldeneye (Anthracobia macrocystis) is a species in the genus Anthracobia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Clouded Cosmet

Clouded cosmet refers to a microlepidopteran moth in the family Cosmopterigidae or related families, likely in the genus Mompha or Cosmopterix, characterized by wings bearing subtle clouded or mottled patterns that distinguish it from more distinctly marked relatives. Cosmet moths are small, delicate insects with narrow, lanceolate wings bearing metallic highlights and fine cross-lines. They inhabit woodland edges, hedgerows, fens, and riverbanks where their larval foodplants occur. Many cosmet moths are highly host-specific, with larvae mining leaves or boring in stems of specific plant genera such as Epilobium (willowherbs) for Mompha species or various herbaceous plants for Cosmopterix. Adults fly from late spring through summer in one or two generations depending on latitude, resting on foliage by day with wings folded roof-like over the body. The intricate wing patterns and metallic scale patches of cosmet moths make them objects of particular interest among lepidopterists, though their small size demands close examination under magnification for confident identification. Many species are locally distributed and associated with specific habitat types.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden