clouded brindle vs Common Kidney-Vetch

Apamea epomidion compared with Anthyllis vulneraria

Key Differences

clouded brindle is Least Concern while Common Kidney-Vetch is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	clouded brindle	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	Noctuidae	Fabaceae
Genus	Apamea	Anthyllis
Species	Apamea epomidion	Anthyllis vulneraria

Conservation Status

clouded brindle

LC — Least Concern

Common Kidney-Vetch

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	clouded brindle	Common Kidney-Vetch
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

clouded brindle

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.

clouded brindle

The clouded brindle (Apamea epomidion) is a noctuid moth in the family Noctuidae found across temperate Europe and extending into western Asia. The adult wingspan measures approximately 35–45 mm with typical brindle-patterned forewings in grey-brown and buff tones with subtle cross-lines and stigmata characteristic of the Apamea genus. The term 'clouded' refers to diffuse cloud-like darker shading areas across the forewing surface. Adults fly in one generation from June to August, attracted to light and flowers at night. The larvae are internal feeders within grass stems and roots, feeding on coarse grass species such as Brachypodium sylvaticum and Deschampsia in woodland rides, scrub margins, and rough grassland habitats. The pupal stage overwinters in soil or within plant debris. The clouded brindle inhabits structurally diverse woodland edge habitats with a mixture of tall grasses, scrub, and open canopy woodland rides that provide both larval foodplants and adult resting sites. Changes in woodland management, particularly reduction of coppicing and shading of woodland rides, may affect this and related grass-feeding brindle moth species.

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.