Coastal Flat-body vs Colocynth

Agonopterix yeatiana compared with Citrullus colocynthis

Key Differences

• Coastal Flat-body is Near Threatened while Colocynth is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coastal Flat-body	Colocynth
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Cucurbitales (Cucurbitales)
Family	Depressariidae	Cucurbitaceae
Genus	Agonopterix	Citrullus
Species	Agonopterix yeatiana	Citrullus colocynthis

Conservation Status

Coastal Flat-body

NT — Near Threatened

Colocynth

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coastal Flat-body	Colocynth
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coastal Flat-body

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Colocynth

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Madagascar), Asia (Armenia, Turkey), Europe (7 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia).

Coastal Flat-body

Agonopterix yeatiana, the coastal flat-body, is a small moth in the family Depressariidae native to coastal and calcareous grassland habitats across western and northern Europe, with records from Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden. Moths in the family Depressariidae, commonly called flat-body moths due to the depressed posture they adopt when resting with wings held flat against the surface, are associated predominantly with umbellifer plants of the family Apiaceae as larval hosts. Agonopterix yeatiana larvae feed on wild carrot (Daucus carota), wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), and related coastal and grassland Apiaceae species, inhabiting the open, often calcareous or sandy habitats where these plants grow. Adult moths have greyish-brown forewing with a distinctive pattern of spots and dashes and reach approximately 8–12 millimeters in wingspan. The species is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, reflecting declines associated with the loss of traditional hay meadow management, coastal grassland degradation, and scrub encroachment that eliminates the open, flower-rich grassland habitats supporting its host plants. Agricultural intensification has reduced wild umbellifer populations significantly across lowland Europe, reducing food resources for larvae of specialist moths like A. yeatiana.

Colocynth

<em>Citrullus colocynthis</em>, commonly known as Colocynth, is a plant species belonging to the genus <em>Citrullus</em> within the family Cucurbitaceae, the gourd family. This species has a remarkably broad geographic distribution, with documented occurrences across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. Records include countries such as Madagascar in Africa, Armenia and Turkey in Asia, Bulgaria and Greece among other European nations, Canada and the United States in North America, and Australia in Oceania. Colocynth is a drought-tolerant perennial vine that typically grows in arid and semi-arid environments, including desert margins, sandy soils, and degraded lands. It produces small, round, bitter fruits historically used in traditional medicine across many cultures for their purgative properties. The species thrives in open, sunny habitats with well-drained soils. Its conservation status has not been formally assessed. As a plant, it produces energy through photosynthesis. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. <em>Citrullus colocynthis</em> is recognized as a species of ethnobotanical and pharmacological interest.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇸🇪 Sweden