Cardinal Click Beetle vs Codling Moth

Ampedus cardinalis compared with Cydia pomonella

Key Differences

  • Cardinal Click Beetle is Critically Endangered while Codling Moth is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank Cardinal Click Beetle Codling Moth
Kingdom same Animalia (สัตว์) Animalia (สัตว์)
Phylum same Arthropoda (สัตว์ขาปล้อง) Arthropoda (สัตว์ขาปล้อง)
Class same Insecta (แมลง) Insecta (แมลง)
Order Coleoptera (อันดับด้วง) Lepidoptera (ผีเสื้อ)
Family Elateridae Tortricidae
Genus Ampedus Cydia
Species Ampedus cardinalis Cydia pomonella

Evolutionary Relationship

Cardinal Click Beetle and Codling Moth share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (แมลง)

Conservation Status

Cardinal Click Beetle

CR — Critically Endangered

Codling Moth

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute Cardinal Click Beetle Codling Moth
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.

Codling Moth

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Europe (6 countries), and North America (Canada, United States).

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.

Codling Moth

The Codling Moth (Cydia pomonella) is a lepidopteran pest in the family Tortricidae, recognised globally as one of the most economically damaging insects affecting apple, pear, and walnut orchards. Adult moths have a wingspan of approximately 15–22 millimetres, with forewings patterned in grey and bronze, featuring a distinctive dark ocellate marking at the wing tip. Females lay eggs singly on fruit or foliage; hatching larvae bore directly into developing fruit, feeding on seeds and the core, creating characteristic brown frass-filled tunnels. By the time infestation is visible externally, significant damage to the crop has already occurred. Originally native to Eurasia, Cydia pomonella has established itself on every continent where pome fruits are cultivated, including North America, South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, facilitated by trade in infested plant material. Management relies on integrated approaches combining pheromone-based mating disruption, timed insecticide applications, kaolin clay barriers, and biological control using entomopathogenic nematodes and the granulovirus CpGV. Resistance to organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides has developed in some populations, complicating conventional chemical management. The species undergoes 1–3 generations per year depending on climate. Despite its pest status, Cydia pomonella is not conservation-evaluated.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

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