Common Click Beetle vs Mountain Shieldbug

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Common Click Beetle Mountain Shieldbug
Scientific Name Agriotes sputator Canthophorus impressus
Order Coleoptera Hemiptera
Family Elateridae Cydnidae
Size 6-8 mm 4-6 mm
Habitat Farmland Tundra & Arctic
Diet Root Feeders Root Feeders
Regions Europe, Western Asia Scandinavia, Scotland, northern Russia, alpine Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Common Click Beetle

A small, uniformly brown click beetle that is one of the most common wireworm pests in European agriculture. Adults are often found on flowers and grasses in spring and early summer.

💡

Did You Know?

The clicking mechanism that gives the family its name involves a peg-and-groove structure on the thorax that stores and releases elastic energy.

Mountain Shieldbug

A small, dark brown to black burrowing shieldbug found in Arctic and alpine habitats. It has a broadly oval body with a prominent scutellum. Adults live at the base of plants and in soil crevices.

💡

Did You Know?

This shieldbug emits a strong defensive odor when disturbed, which is particularly pungent in cold Arctic air.