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Beetles of Zihuatanejo

ORDER COLEOPTERA

Four-spotted Collops
Collops ​quadrimaculatus

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Beetles (Order Coleoptera​​)

-​Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf, and Snout Beetles (Suborder Polyphaga)

-​Cucujiform Beetles (Infraorder Cucujiformia)

-Bark-gnawing, Checkered, and Soft-winged Flower Beetles (Superfamily Cleroidea)

-Soft-winged Flower Beetles (Family Melyridae)

-Malachite Beetles (Subfamily Malachiinae)

-Genus Collops​

-Four-spotted Collops Beetle (Collops ​quadrimaculatus)



The Collops quadrimaculatus is a species of beetle in the family Melyridae, commonly known as soft-winged flower beetles. This beetle is known for its bright coloration and predatory habits, especially toward other small insects. Collops quadrimaculatus is distinctive for its bright orange-red body with four black spots on the elytra (wing covers), which gives it the "four-spotted" name.

Diet

  • Adults: Primarily predatory, feeding on aphids, mites, insect eggs, small caterpillars, and other soft-bodied arthropods. They also visit flowers for nectar and pollen.

  • Larvae: Predatory, feeding on small insects and other arthropods in vegetation, leaf litter, and soil.

  • Adults may also consume honeydew produced by aphids and other sap-feeding insects.

Range

  • Collops quadrimaculatus occurs in Mexico and Central America, with records extending into parts of northern South America.

  • In Mexico, it is associated with tropical and subtropical regions, including the Pacific slope and Guerrero.

  • It may occur in the Zihuatanejo region where suitable flowering vegetation and prey are present.

Habitat

  • Found in tropical dry forests, tropical deciduous forests, grasslands, woodland edges, secondary vegetation, agricultural fields, gardens, and flowering clearings.

  • Adults are commonly encountered on flowers and foliage, where they hunt small insects and obtain floral resources.

  • Larvae occur in leaf litter, soil, and low vegetation.

Size

  • Adult length: approximately 5–7 mm (0.2–0.28 in).

  • Body elongate and soft-bodied, typically with contrasting red, orange, yellow, and black markings.

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