Clover Hayworm Moth vs Common harp ground beetle

Hypsopygia costalis compared with Amara communis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Clover Hayworm Moth	Common harp ground beetle
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Coleoptera (Beetles)
Family	Pyralidae	Carabidae
Genus	Hypsopygia	Amara
Species	Hypsopygia costalis	Amara communis

Evolutionary Relationship

Clover Hayworm Moth and Common harp ground beetle share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

Clover Hayworm Moth

LC — Least Concern

Common harp ground beetle

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Clover Hayworm Moth	Common harp ground beetle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Clover Hayworm Moth

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

Common harp ground beetle

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

Clover Hayworm Moth

The clover hayworm moth (Hypsopygia costalis) is a pyralid moth in the family Pyralidae, subfamily Hypsopygia, order Lepidoptera. The common name hayworm moth reflects the larval habit of feeding on dry plant material, including stored hay, dried plant debris, leaf litter, and decaying organic matter — a diet unusual among moths, most of which feed on living plant tissue. Larvae of H. costalis inhabit accumulated plant detritus such as thatch, stored grass clippings, compost, and dry stacks of hay or straw, earning the species its association with agricultural storage environments. Adults are small, brightly colored moths with distinctive red, yellow, and ochre wing markings that make them more visible than many pyralids, potentially functioning as aposematic coloration or mimicry. The species is distributed across Europe, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, extending to North America. It inhabits a variety of habitats wherever decaying plant material accumulates, including agricultural settings, gardens, woodland edges, and semi-natural grasslands. H. costalis is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with populations considered stable and the species not subject to significant threats. The species has one generation per year in most of its range, with adults flying from late spring through summer. Larvae overwinter in plant debris. H. costalis rarely causes significant economic damage despite its association with stored plant material.

Common harp ground beetle

The common harp ground beetle, <em>Amara communis</em>, is an insect belonging to the order Coleoptera, family Carabidae, the ground beetles. This species is distributed across Europe and North America, indicating a wide Holarctic range. Ground beetles of the genus Amara are typically found in a variety of terrestrial habitats including grasslands, agricultural fields, woodland margins, and disturbed areas. Members of this genus are generally omnivorous or seed-feeding, and some are known to consume weed seeds, giving them potential ecological significance in agroecosystems. <em>Amara communis</em> is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, reflecting stable populations across its range. No dietary information has been provided specifically for this species in current records. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇦 Canada 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States