Cardinal Click Beetle vs Cliff Mining Bee

Ampedus cardinalis compared with Andrena thoracica

Key Differences

  • Cardinal Click Beetle is Critically Endangered while Cliff Mining Bee is Extinct.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank Cardinal Click Beetle Cliff Mining Bee
Kingdom same Animalia (สัตว์) Animalia (สัตว์)
Phylum same Arthropoda (สัตว์ขาปล้อง) Arthropoda (สัตว์ขาปล้อง)
Class same Insecta (แมลง) Insecta (แมลง)
Order Coleoptera (อันดับด้วง) Hymenoptera (แตน)
Family Elateridae Andrenidae
Genus Ampedus Andrena
Species Ampedus cardinalis Andrena thoracica

Evolutionary Relationship

Cardinal Click Beetle and Cliff Mining Bee share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (แมลง)

Conservation Status

Cardinal Click Beetle

CR — Critically Endangered

Cliff Mining Bee

EX — Extinct

Physical Characteristics

Attribute Cardinal Click Beetle Cliff Mining Bee
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.

Cliff Mining Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

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.

Cliff Mining Bee

The Cliff Mining Bee, Andrena species in the family Andrenidae, is a solitary ground-nesting bee that excavates tunnels in cliff faces, earthen banks, and compacted sandy or loamy soils, where the loose or friable substrates exposed in cliff profiles provide ideal nesting conditions. Mining bees in the genus Andrena are among the most species-rich solitary bee genera in the world, with hundreds of species across the Holarctic region, many narrowly specialized in their choice of pollen host plants. Female cliff mining bees construct vertical or angled burrows in cliff faces, with lateral cells off the main shaft, each containing a pollen ball and a single egg. Males are typically smaller and emerge before females to establish territories near nesting sites. Many Andrena species are oligolectic, collecting pollen from only a small number of plant species, making their populations sensitive to the availability of specific flowering plants in the landscape surrounding nesting areas. Cliff and bank nesting habitats provide well-drained, sun-warmed substrates essential for brood development. The loss of natural cliff faces and earthen banks to development, vegetation succession, and quarrying reduces available nesting habitat for cliff mining bees.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

Nature FYI Family

Explore more of the natural world across our sister sites.

Part of the Nature FYI family — FYIPedia