Clover Seed Weevil vs Red Clover Seed Weevil

Tychius picirostris compared with Tychius stephensi

Key Differences

• Clover Seed Weevil is Least Concern while Red Clover Seed Weevil is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Clover Seed Weevil	Red Clover Seed Weevil
Kingdom same	Animalia (Tier)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Gliederfüßer)	Arthropoda (Gliederfüßer)
Class same	Insecta (Insekten)	Insecta (Insekten)
Order same	Coleoptera (Käfer)	Coleoptera (Käfer)
Family same	Curculionidae	Curculionidae
Genus same	Tychius	Tychius
Species	Tychius picirostris	Tychius stephensi

Evolutionary Relationship

Clover Seed Weevil and Red Clover Seed Weevil share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Tychius.

Conservation Status

Clover Seed Weevil

LC — Least Concern

Red Clover Seed Weevil

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Clover Seed Weevil	Red Clover Seed Weevil
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Clover Seed Weevil

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

Red Clover Seed Weevil

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Canada, Denmark, and United States. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Clover Seed Weevil

The clover seed weevil (Tychius picirostris) is a small weevil in the family Curculionidae, order Coleoptera, specializing in seed predation of clover species (Trifolium) and related legumes. Females oviposit directly into developing clover seed pods, and larvae feed within the seeds as they develop, consuming the cotyledons and reducing seed viability. A single larva typically destroys one seed per pod, and high infestation densities can eliminate a substantial proportion of seed yield in agricultural clover crops, making T. picirostris an economically significant pest. Adults feed on clover flowers and foliage before and after overwintering in soil and leaf litter, emerging in spring with host plant flowering. T. picirostris is distributed across temperate Europe and its range extends to North America including Canada and parts of the United States, where it has been introduced. In Europe it is recorded from countries including Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden. It inhabits meadows, grasslands, roadside verges, and agricultural clover fields wherever suitable Trifolium host plants flower. T. picirostris is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with populations considered stable despite localized management actions by farmers seeking to reduce seed crop losses. Adults are two to three millimeters long, reddish-brown with a characteristic elongated snout, typical of curculionid weevils.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇨🇦 Canada 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇺🇸 United States