Fly Agaric vs Illustrious Greenbottle

Amanita muscaria compared with Lucilia illustris

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Fly Agaric	Illustrious Greenbottle
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Agaricaceae (Agarics)	Calliphoridae
Genus	Amanita (Amanitas)	Lucilia
Species	Amanita muscaria	Lucilia illustris

Conservation Status

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Illustrious Greenbottle

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Fly Agaric	Illustrious Greenbottle
Diet	Decomposer	—
Average Lifespan	1 years	—
Average Length	20 cm	—
Average Weight	100 g	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Fly Agaric

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia).

Illustrious Greenbottle

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

Fly Agaric

Among the most iconic and recognizable fungi on Earth, fly agaric mushrooms display striking red caps with white flecked warts across boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Despite their fairy-tale appearance, they contain potent psychoactive compounds including muscimol and ibotenic acid and are moderately toxic. They form critical mycorrhizal symbioses with birch, pine, and spruce trees, exchanging mineral nutrients for carbon and playing essential roles in boreal forest nutrient cycling.