Bug FAQBlack-headed Melyrid
Collops tricolor · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Melyridae
Also called: Tri-coloured Soft-winged Flower Beetle
Adults are tiny, only about 3.5 to 4 mm long. They have a black head, underside and legs, a rufous labrum and thorax, pale-rufous antennae that darken at the tips, and dark bluish-green to violet elytra that may show rufous margins. The species lives in North America, being common from Quebec down to Virginia and also recorded in parts of the Appalachian region and the Gulf states.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The head, underside and legs are black. The labrum and thorax are rufous, while the antennae start pale-rufous and become dusky at the tips. Elytra are dark bluish-green to violet, sometimes with rufous margins or a partly rufous suture.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure 3.5 to 4 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found in North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The range includes Alabama, the Carolinas, the Appalachian Mountains of Georgia, and outcrops in north-central Georgia.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
C. vicarius looks the same except the male’s basal triangular joint of the antennae is narrower, about half as wide as it is long.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 19 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Massachusetts, Maine, New York, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Connecticut, Virginia, South Dakota.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I tell this beetle apart from similar species?
Check the antennae joint in males, C. vicarius has a narrower joint, and look for a dark spot on the thorax and rufous thighs, which indicate C. nigriceps.
Source: Wikipedia
How big are Black-headed Melyrid beetles?
They are very small, only about 3.5 to 4 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is this beetle found?
It occurs in North America, especially from Quebec down to Virginia and in parts of the Appalachian region and Gulf states.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Melyridae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collops_tricolor
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-29 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-29.