Cardinal Click Beetle vs Greater dodder

Ampedus cardinalis compared with Cuscuta europaea

Key Differences

Cardinal Click Beetle is Critically Endangered while Greater dodder is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cardinal Click Beetle	Greater dodder
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Coleoptera (Beetles)	Solanales (Solanales)
Family	Elateridae	Convolvulaceae
Genus	Ampedus	Cuscuta
Species	Ampedus cardinalis	Cuscuta europaea

Conservation Status

Cardinal Click Beetle

CR — Critically Endangered

Greater dodder

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cardinal Click Beetle	Greater dodder
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.

Greater dodder

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Bhutan, Turkey), Europe (5 countries), and North America (United States).

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.