Cardinal Click Beetle vs Common Starwort

Ampedus cardinalis compared with Stellaria graminea

Key Differences

Cardinal Click Beetle is Critically Endangered while Common Starwort is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cardinal Click Beetle	Common Starwort
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (plantas)
Phylum	Arthropoda (artrópode)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (inseto)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Coleoptera (besouro)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family	Elateridae	Caryophyllaceae
Genus	Ampedus	Stellaria
Species	Ampedus cardinalis	Stellaria graminea

Conservation Status

Cardinal Click Beetle

CR — Critically Endangered

Common Starwort

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cardinal Click Beetle	Common Starwort
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cardinal Click Beetle

Habitat

Inhabits temperate coniferous forests within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Starwort

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Japan), Europe (8 countries), North America (Canada, Mexico, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia).

Cardinal Click Beetle

The Cardinal Click Beetle (Ampedus cardinalis) is a species in the genus Ampedus. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits temperate coniferous forests within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Common Starwort

<em>Stellaria graminea</em>, commonly known as the common starwort or lesser stitchwort, is a slender perennial herb in the family Caryophyllaceae, widely distributed across the temperate regions of Europe and Asia. This species typically inhabits grasslands, meadows, heathlands, woodland margins, roadsides, and hedgerow banks, favouring moderately acidic to neutral, nutrient-poor soils and tolerating a range of moisture conditions. Its geographic range extends from the British Isles and Scandinavia across continental Europe into Russia, Central Asia, and as far east as China and Japan, making it one of the more broadly distributed members of the genus. Classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, <em>Stellaria graminea</em> remains common and stable across much of its extensive Eurasian range. The plant produces small white flowers with five deeply bifid petals, giving the appearance of ten petals, characteristic of the family Caryophyllaceae. Stems are typically weak and straggling, supported by surrounding vegetation, and reach lengths of approximately 15–60 cm. As a plant, dietary traits in the zoological sense are not applicable. Biological traits such as average individual lifespan, body weight, and precise dimensional measurements remain poorly documented, though the species is perennial and may persist at established sites for many years.