Black-Veined White vs Coastal Silver-stiletto

Aporia crataegi compared with Acrosathe annulata

Key Differences

• Black-Veined White is Endangered while Coastal Silver-stiletto is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black-Veined White	Coastal Silver-stiletto
Kingdom same	Animalia (动物界)	Animalia (动物界)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (节肢动物门)	Arthropoda (节肢动物门)
Class same	Insecta (昆蟲綱)	Insecta (昆蟲綱)
Order	Lepidoptera (鱗翅目)	Diptera (雙翅目)
Family	Pieridae	Therevidae
Genus	Aporia	Acrosathe
Species	Aporia crataegi	Acrosathe annulata

Evolutionary Relationship

Black-Veined White and Coastal Silver-stiletto share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (昆蟲綱)

Conservation Status

Black-Veined White

EN — Endangered

Coastal Silver-stiletto

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black-Veined White	Coastal Silver-stiletto
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black-Veined White

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate coniferous forests, and boreal forests and taiga, among 9 distinct biome types within the Palearctic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found across Asia (Cyprus) and Europe (39 countries). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Coastal Silver-stiletto

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Black-Veined White

Black-Veined White（Aporia crataegi）在IUCN红色名录中被列为濒危（EN）物种。在野外面临高度灭绝风险，种群数量显著下降，生存威胁持续存在。

Coastal Silver-stiletto

Coastal silver stiletto (Acrosathe annulata) is a slender robber fly in the family Therevidae, native to northwestern Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scandinavia. Adults are found on coastal sand dunes and sandy heathland, where they perch on bare sand to ambush small flying insects. Stiletto flies in the family Therevidae are characterised by a slender body, long pointed abdomen, and predatory habits; adults prey on a variety of small dipterans and other flying insects during warm, sunny periods. Larvae develop in sandy soil, where they are also predatory, feeding on other invertebrate larvae. Acrosathe annulata is a habitat specialist restricted to open, sandy coastal habitats with sparse vegetation—environments that have declined substantially across northwestern Europe due to dune stabilisation, recreational disturbance, and the cessation of traditional dune management. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though regional conservation bodies in the United Kingdom have flagged population declines. It is considered an indicator of high-quality coastal sand dune habitats and is monitored through national invertebrate surveys.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

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