Gepard vs Clover Hayworm Moth

Acinonyx jubatus compared with Hypsopygia costalis

Key Differences

• Gepard is Vulnerable while Clover Hayworm Moth is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Gepard	Clover Hayworm Moth
Kingdom same	Animalia (Tier)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordatiere)	Arthropoda (Gliederfüßer)
Class	Mammalia (Säugetiere)	Insecta (Insekten)
Order	Carnivora (Raubtiere)	Lepidoptera (Schmetterlinge)
Family	Felidae (Cats)	Pyralidae
Genus	Acinonyx (Cheetahs)	Hypsopygia
Species	Acinonyx jubatus	Hypsopygia costalis

Evolutionary Relationship

Gepard and Clover Hayworm Moth share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Tier)

Conservation Status

Gepard

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~6.7K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Clover Hayworm Moth

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Gepard	Clover Hayworm Moth
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	12 years	—
Average Length	1.5 m	—
Average Weight	50.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Gepard

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 9 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Botswana, Iran, Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Clover Hayworm Moth

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

Gepard

The fastest land animal on Earth, reaching speeds of 112 km/h over short distances across African and Iranian grasslands. Slender build with a deep chest, long legs, and distinctive black tear-stripe markings. Unlike other big cats, cheetahs vocalize with chirps and purrs. Vulnerable, with only ~7,000 remaining due to habitat fragmentation and competition with larger predators.

Clover Hayworm Moth

The clover hayworm moth (Hypsopygia costalis) is a pyralid moth in the family Pyralidae, subfamily Hypsopygia, order Lepidoptera. The common name hayworm moth reflects the larval habit of feeding on dry plant material, including stored hay, dried plant debris, leaf litter, and decaying organic matter — a diet unusual among moths, most of which feed on living plant tissue. Larvae of H. costalis inhabit accumulated plant detritus such as thatch, stored grass clippings, compost, and dry stacks of hay or straw, earning the species its association with agricultural storage environments. Adults are small, brightly colored moths with distinctive red, yellow, and ochre wing markings that make them more visible than many pyralids, potentially functioning as aposematic coloration or mimicry. The species is distributed across Europe, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, extending to North America. It inhabits a variety of habitats wherever decaying plant material accumulates, including agricultural settings, gardens, woodland edges, and semi-natural grasslands. H. costalis is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with populations considered stable and the species not subject to significant threats. The species has one generation per year in most of its range, with adults flying from late spring through summer. Larvae overwinter in plant debris. H. costalis rarely causes significant economic damage despite its association with stored plant material.