Common harp ground beetle vs Painted Lady

Amara communis compared with Vanessa cardui

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common harp ground beetle	Painted Lady
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	Carabidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Amara	Vanessa
Species	Amara communis	Vanessa cardui

Evolutionary Relationship

Common harp ground beetle and Painted Lady share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

Common harp ground beetle

LC — Least Concern

Painted Lady

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common harp ground beetle	Painted Lady
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).

Painted Lady

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Cyprus, Taiwan), Europe (41 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.

Painted Lady

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 7 countries:

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