Common harp ground beetle vs Common Lime

Amara communis compared with Tilia europaea

Key Differences

• Common harp ground beetle is Least Concern while Common Lime is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common harp ground beetle	Common Lime
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Coleoptera (Beetles)	Malvales (Malvales)
Family	Carabidae	Malvaceae
Genus	Amara	Tilia
Species	Amara communis	Tilia europaea

Conservation Status

Common harp ground beetle

LC — Least Concern

Common Lime

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common harp ground beetle	Common Lime
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

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).

Common Lime

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found across Europe (4 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

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.

Common Lime

<em>Tilia europaea</em>, the common lime or European linden, is a large deciduous tree in the family Malvaceae, occurring naturally as a hybrid between <em>Tilia cordata</em> and <em>Tilia platyphyllos</em>. It is widely distributed across Europe and has been introduced to North America, where it is commonly planted as a street and park tree. The common lime typically grows in temperate broadleaf forests and urban environments, reaching considerable heights and living for several centuries. It produces fragrant, pale yellow flowers in summer that are highly attractive to bees and other pollinators, earning it a prominent role in honey production. The species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List. Its wood is valued for carving and musical instrument manufacture, while its flowers and leaves have traditional uses in herbal medicine. Common lime is particularly notable for producing abundant basal sprouts and epicormic shoots, a characteristic that makes it useful for coppicing and pollarding in traditional land management practices across Europe and North America.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

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