Clover Seed Weevil vs koala

Tychius picirostris compared with Phascolarctos cinereus

Key Differences

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

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Clover Seed Weevil	koala
Kingdom same	Animalia (animal)	Animalia (animal)
Phylum	Arthropoda (arthropodes)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (insecte)	Mammalia (mammifères)
Order	Coleoptera (Beetles)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Curculionidae	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)
Genus	Tychius	Phascolarctos (Koalas)
Species	Tychius picirostris	Phascolarctos cinereus

Evolutionary Relationship

Clover Seed Weevil and koala share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (animal)

Conservation Status

Clover Seed Weevil

LC — Least Concern

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Clover Seed Weevil	koala
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	75 cm
Average Weight	—	10.0 kg

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).

koala

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, forests, and vegetated habitats.

Range

Found in Australia. 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.

koala

Iconic marsupial of eastern and southeastern Australia, koalas weigh up to 15 kg and spend up to 22 hours daily sleeping to conserve energy from their low-calorie eucalyptus leaf diet. Highly specialized to process toxic eucalyptus compounds that would kill most other mammals, they have gut microbiomes uniquely adapted for detoxification. Listed as Endangered in 2022, with populations decimated by chlamydia disease, habitat clearing, and climate change.