Chocolate-tip vs Common Kidney-Vetch

Clostera curtula compared with Anthyllis vulneraria

Key Differences

Chocolate-tip is Least Concern while Common Kidney-Vetch is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chocolate-tip	Common Kidney-Vetch
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family	Notodontidae	Fabaceae
Genus	Clostera	Anthyllis
Species	Clostera curtula	Anthyllis vulneraria

Conservation Status

Chocolate-tip

LC — Least Concern

Common Kidney-Vetch

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chocolate-tip	Common Kidney-Vetch
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chocolate-tip

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Common Kidney-Vetch

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, and temperate coniferous forests, among 6 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Oceanian and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Libya), Asia (Japan), Europe (9 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Chocolate-tip

The Chocolate-tip (Clostera curtula) is a moth in the family Notodontidae (prominent moths), distributed widely across the temperate Palaearctic region from western Europe through central Asia. Adult moths are medium-sized with a characteristic chocolate-brown or reddish-brown distal area on the forewings that contrasts with the pale basal area — a pattern from which the common name is derived. The wings are held in a tent-like roof over the body at rest, which, combined with the hairy thorax, creates a convincing bark-like camouflage that provides protection from visually hunting predators during daylight hours. The larvae feed on the leaves of various willows (Salix), poplars (Populus), and aspens — trees common in riparian and lowland habitats throughout the species' range. Like other notodontids, larvae may be gregarious in early instars, feeding together before dispersing for later instars. The species produces two or more generations per year in warmer parts of its range, overwintering as a pupa in a cocoon on or in the ground. The IUCN classifies the Chocolate-tip as Least Concern; it is a moderately common and widespread species across Europe and Asia wherever suitable Salix and Populus host trees occur. It is attracted to light traps and is regularly recorded in moth surveys.

Common Kidney-Vetch

Common Kidney-Vetch (<em>Anthyllis vulneraria</em>) is a flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to habitat degradation and agricultural intensification across parts of its range. It is widely distributed across Africa (Libya), Asia (Japan), Europe (nine countries), North America (Canada and the United States), and Oceania (Australia), occupying six distinct biome types and occurring within the Indomalayan and Oceanian biogeographic realms. The species typically grows in dry, calcareous grasslands, coastal cliffs, sand dunes, and rocky slopes, often favoring nutrient-poor soils. It is an important larval food plant for certain butterfly species, particularly the Small Blue butterfly in Europe, and contributes to soil fertility through nitrogen fixation via root nodules. Its cheerful yellow, orange, or red flower heads make it a recognizable component of chalk and limestone grassland communities. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.