clouded brindle vs Lesser Noctule

Apamea epomidion compared with Nyctalus leisleri

Key Differences

• clouded brindle is Least Concern while Lesser Noctule is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	clouded brindle	Lesser Noctule
Kingdom same	Animalia (hayvan)	Animalia (hayvan)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Eklem bacaklılar)	Chordata (Kordalılar)
Class	Insecta (böcek)	Mammalia (memeliler)
Order	Lepidoptera (Pul kanatlılar)	Chiroptera (yarasa)
Family	Noctuidae	Vespertilionidae
Genus	Apamea	Nyctalus
Species	Apamea epomidion	Nyctalus leisleri

Evolutionary Relationship

clouded brindle and Lesser Noctule share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (hayvan)

Conservation Status

clouded brindle

LC — Least Concern

Lesser Noctule

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	clouded brindle	Lesser Noctule
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

clouded brindle

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Lesser Noctule

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

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

clouded brindle

The clouded brindle (Apamea epomidion) is a noctuid moth in the family Noctuidae found across temperate Europe and extending into western Asia. The adult wingspan measures approximately 35–45 mm with typical brindle-patterned forewings in grey-brown and buff tones with subtle cross-lines and stigmata characteristic of the Apamea genus. The term 'clouded' refers to diffuse cloud-like darker shading areas across the forewing surface. Adults fly in one generation from June to August, attracted to light and flowers at night. The larvae are internal feeders within grass stems and roots, feeding on coarse grass species such as Brachypodium sylvaticum and Deschampsia in woodland rides, scrub margins, and rough grassland habitats. The pupal stage overwinters in soil or within plant debris. The clouded brindle inhabits structurally diverse woodland edge habitats with a mixture of tall grasses, scrub, and open canopy woodland rides that provide both larval foodplants and adult resting sites. Changes in woodland management, particularly reduction of coppicing and shading of woodland rides, may affect this and related grass-feeding brindle moth species.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇸🇪 Sweden