Cardinal Click Beetle vs Coast Groundling

Ampedus cardinalis compared with Caryocolum vicinella

Key Differences

• Cardinal Click Beetle is Critically Endangered while Coast Groundling is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cardinal Click Beetle	Coast Groundling
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Coleoptera (Beetles)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Elateridae	Gelechiidae
Genus	Ampedus	Caryocolum
Species	Ampedus cardinalis	Caryocolum vicinella

Evolutionary Relationship

Cardinal Click Beetle and Coast Groundling share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

Cardinal Click Beetle

CR — Critically Endangered

Coast Groundling

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cardinal Click Beetle	Coast Groundling
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cardinal Click Beetle

Habitat

Inhabits temperate coniferous forests within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

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

Coast Groundling

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Cardinal Click Beetle

The Cardinal Click Beetle (Ampedus cardinalis) is a species in the genus Ampedus. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits temperate coniferous forests within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Coast Groundling

Coast groundling (Caryocolum vicinella) is a small moth in the family Gelechiidae, native to coastal sand dunes and sandy coastal habitats of northwestern Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scandinavia. Like other members of the large and taxonomically complex genus Caryocolum, the larvae are leaf miners or feeders on specific plant hosts in the pink family (Caryophyllaceae), often specialising on coastal species such as sea campion (Silene uniflora) or related plants in coastal dune systems. Adults are small, narrow-winged moths with pale ochre, brown, or grey patterning, flying at dusk and nocturally in summer. The species is associated with open, mobile or semi-stabilised coastal dunes with abundant larval host plants. Coast groundling is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN. However, like many gelechiid moths restricted to coastal dune habitats, it may be sensitive to habitat changes caused by dune stabilisation, scrub encroachment, and reduced management of sand dune systems. Long-term population trends are difficult to assess given the cryptic nature of the species.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden