Bigeye thresher vs Apfelwickler

Alopias pelagicus compared with Cydia pomonella

Key Differences

• Bigeye thresher is Endangered while Apfelwickler is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bigeye thresher	Apfelwickler
Kingdom same	Animalia (Tier)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordatiere)	Arthropoda (Gliederfüßer)
Class	Chondrichthyes (Knorpelfische)	Insecta (Insekten)
Order	Lamniformes (Makrelenhaiartige)	Lepidoptera (Schmetterlinge)
Family	Alopiidae	Tortricidae
Genus	Alopias	Cydia
Species	Alopias pelagicus	Cydia pomonella

Evolutionary Relationship

Bigeye thresher and Apfelwickler share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Tier)

Conservation Status

Bigeye thresher

EN — Endangered

Apfelwickler

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bigeye thresher	Apfelwickler
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bigeye thresher

Habitat

Typically found in marine environments from coastal waters to deep ocean.

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Taiwan. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Apfelwickler

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Europe (6 countries), and North America (Canada, United States).

Bigeye thresher

The Bigeye thresher (Alopias pelagicus) is a species in the genus Alopias. It is currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in marine environments from coastal waters to deep ocean.

Apfelwickler

The Codling Moth (Cydia pomonella) is a lepidopteran pest in the family Tortricidae, recognised globally as one of the most economically damaging insects affecting apple, pear, and walnut orchards. Adult moths have a wingspan of approximately 15–22 millimetres, with forewings patterned in grey and bronze, featuring a distinctive dark ocellate marking at the wing tip. Females lay eggs singly on fruit or foliage; hatching larvae bore directly into developing fruit, feeding on seeds and the core, creating characteristic brown frass-filled tunnels. By the time infestation is visible externally, significant damage to the crop has already occurred. Originally native to Eurasia, Cydia pomonella has established itself on every continent where pome fruits are cultivated, including North America, South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, facilitated by trade in infested plant material. Management relies on integrated approaches combining pheromone-based mating disruption, timed insecticide applications, kaolin clay barriers, and biological control using entomopathogenic nematodes and the granulovirus CpGV. Resistance to organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides has developed in some populations, complicating conventional chemical management. The species undergoes 1–3 generations per year depending on climate. Despite its pest status, Cydia pomonella is not conservation-evaluated.