Clover Hayworm Moth vs gray wolf

Hypsopygia costalis compared with Canis lupus

Key Differences

• Clover Hayworm Moth is Least Concern while gray wolf is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Clover Hayworm Moth	gray wolf
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (artrópode)	Chordata (cordados)
Class	Insecta (inseto)	Mammalia (mamíferos)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Carnivora (carnívoros)
Family	Pyralidae	Canidae (Dogs & Wolves)
Genus	Hypsopygia	Canis (Dogs & Wolves)
Species	Hypsopygia costalis	Canis lupus

Evolutionary Relationship

Clover Hayworm Moth and gray wolf share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Clover Hayworm Moth

LC — Least Concern

gray wolf

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~300.0K

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Clover Hayworm Moth	gray wolf
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	13 years
Average Length	—	1.6 m
Average Weight	—	45.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic 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).

gray wolf

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, deserts and xeric shrublands, and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, among 13 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Seychelles), Asia (Japan), Europe (5 countries), North America (7 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Marshall Islands, Vanuatu), and South America (5 countries). Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.

gray wolf

O lobo-cinzento (Canis lupus), o canídeo selvagem mais amplamente distribuído, ocorre da América do Norte à Eurásia em habitats diversos, incluindo tundra, florestas e pradarias. São animais altamente sociais que vivem em matilhas familiares lideradas por um casal reprodutor dominante. Como predadores-chave, os lobos regulam as populações de presas e moldam profundamente a estrutura do ecossistema, como demonstrou sua reintrodução em Yellowstone. Antes muito perseguidos, as populações estão se recuperando em muitas regiões.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States