water ermine vs white ermine

Spilosoma urticae compared with Spilosoma lubricipeda

Key Differences

• water ermine is Vulnerable while white ermine is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	water ermine	white ermine
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (artrópodos)	Arthropoda (artrópodos)
Class same	Insecta (insecto)	Insecta (insecto)
Order same	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family same	Erebidae	Erebidae
Genus same	Spilosoma	Spilosoma
Species	Spilosoma urticae	Spilosoma lubricipeda

Evolutionary Relationship

water ermine and white ermine share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Spilosoma.

Conservation Status

water ermine

VU — Vulnerable

white ermine

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	water ermine	white ermine
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

water ermine

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

white ermine

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden