Coastal Flat-body vs Shadow Dot Lichen

Agonopterix yeatiana compared with Micarea peliocarpa

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coastal Flat-body	Shadow Dot Lichen
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Arthropoda (artrópodos)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Insecta (insecto)	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Lecanorales (Lecanorales)
Family	Depressariidae	Byssolomataceae
Genus	Agonopterix	Micarea
Species	Agonopterix yeatiana	Micarea peliocarpa

Conservation Status

Coastal Flat-body

NT — Near Threatened

Shadow Dot Lichen

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coastal Flat-body	Shadow Dot Lichen
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.

Shadow Dot Lichen

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

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

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.