clouded magpie vs Tussock dropseed

Abraxas sylvata compared with Sporobolus diandrus

Key Differences

• clouded magpie is Vulnerable while Tussock dropseed is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	clouded magpie	Tussock dropseed
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Poales (Grasses)
Family	Geometridae	Poaceae (Grass Family)
Genus	Abraxas	Sporobolus
Species	Abraxas sylvata	Sporobolus diandrus

Conservation Status

clouded magpie

VU — Vulnerable

Tussock dropseed

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	clouded magpie	Tussock dropseed
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

clouded magpie

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Tussock dropseed

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Mauritius), Asia (Taiwan), North America (United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Fiji, Micronesia, Tonga).

clouded magpie

The clouded magpie (Abraxas sylvata) is a geometrid moth in the family Geometridae found across temperate Europe, extending eastward through Russia to Japan. The adult wingspan measures approximately 32–42 mm, with white wings bearing a distinctive pattern of yellow-orange and dark grey to black spots and patches arranged in rows across the forewing and hindwing, creating a striking patterned appearance resembling the magpie coloring of the related magpie moth Abraxas grossulariata, but with a more yellowish, muted tone and less black — hence 'clouded.' Adults fly in one generation from June to July, resting on leaf surfaces and attending woodland flowers for nectar. The larvae feed on wych elm (Ulmus glabra) and occasionally other Ulmus species in mature deciduous woodland and woodland edges. The clouded magpie has become less common in parts of its European range due to the widespread loss of mature elms from Dutch elm disease, which devastated European elm populations from the 1970s onward. Conservation of this species requires the protection of surviving mature elm trees and management of regrowth elms in woodland ecosystems.