clouded magpie vs Common Blue Damselfly

Abraxas sylvata compared with Enallagma cyathigerum

Key Differences

• clouded magpie is Vulnerable while Common Blue Damselfly is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	clouded magpie	Common Blue Damselfly
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)	Odonata (蜻蜓目)
Family	Geometridae	Coenagrionidae
Genus	Abraxas	Enallagma
Species	Abraxas sylvata	Enallagma cyathigerum

Evolutionary Relationship

clouded magpie and Common Blue Damselfly share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (昆蟲綱)

Conservation Status

clouded magpie

VU — Vulnerable

Common Blue Damselfly

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	clouded magpie	Common Blue Damselfly
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

clouded magpie

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.

Common Blue Damselfly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

clouded magpie

The clouded magpie (Abraxas sylvata) is a geometrid moth in the family Geometridae found across temperate Europe, extending eastward through Russia to Japan. The adult wingspan measures approximately 32–42 mm, with white wings bearing a distinctive pattern of yellow-orange and dark grey to black spots and patches arranged in rows across the forewing and hindwing, creating a striking patterned appearance resembling the magpie coloring of the related magpie moth Abraxas grossulariata, but with a more yellowish, muted tone and less black — hence 'clouded.' Adults fly in one generation from June to July, resting on leaf surfaces and attending woodland flowers for nectar. The larvae feed on wych elm (Ulmus glabra) and occasionally other Ulmus species in mature deciduous woodland and woodland edges. The clouded magpie has become less common in parts of its European range due to the widespread loss of mature elms from Dutch elm disease, which devastated European elm populations from the 1970s onward. Conservation of this species requires the protection of surviving mature elm trees and management of regrowth elms in woodland ecosystems.

Common Blue Damselfly

普通蓝豆娘（Enallagma cyathigerum）在IUCN红色名录中被列为无危（LC）。分布广泛，数量丰富，种群稳定，无迫切的保护关切。

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

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