Soft-winged Flower Beetles (Melyridae) - 151 Species, Identification & Facts

Ablechrus texensis

Identification: back of head "piceotestaceous" or dark reddish-brown in color Holotype, female, “Hidalgo Co., Texas. III-26-54. D. J. and J. N. Knull, collectors.” One female paratype, same data, except collected V-28-51.

Anthocomus fasciatus

This is a tiny little beetle only 4 mm long. It has to be seen in good light to appreciate that it has red markings on its black elytra. Anywhere a food source is to be found such as low vegetation or even on the sills of outbuildings etc. where tiny

Anthocomus rufus

Length 4 to 5 mm. This is a small bright red beetle with elytra that are shorter than the body and with black on the head and thorax. Has a preference for wetter areas around reedbeds and margins. Widespread in the southern half of Britain.

Attalus australis 0

Attalus australis

Identification: The pale tibiae and tarsi contrast strongly with the black femora. The blue-black upper surface and posteriorly widened elytra give it the appearance of a Pseudobaeus , but the male and female elytra are similar in form.

Attalus glabrellus

Identification: Fall's key: Elytra entirely black -> Head, at least, and generally the thorax largely black -> Upper surface nearly glabrous = glabrellus Form rather stout, distinctly shining throughout, nearly glabrous and subimpunctate. Black, thor

Attalus humeralis

Identification: Yellow-red, shiny, less densely pubescent, head and thorax slightly shorter than the width, convex, slightly margined, apex truncate, base with rounded posterior corners; elytra sparsely punctate posteriorly, slightly dilated, decorat

Attalus melanopterus

Identification: melanopterus is the first of 57 Attalus spp. to key out : 1) Elytra entirely black or piceous; 2) Head and thorax rufotestaceous; 3) Abdomen pale rufous = Attalus melanopterus leg color variable: "The only specimen of this species whi

Attalus nigripes

Identification: 2-2.5 mm, pubescence sparse [see type ]; thorax rufous, with variable dark discal area (last couplet in: ) - all Dets. M. A. Quinn (c.TX, c.TX, AZ, w.TX) "In his original description of this species, Horn states: "body beneath and leg

Attalus otiosus

Identification: SPECIFIC CHARACTER: Thorax rufous, with a dilated longitudinal line; antennae and elytra black. DESCRIPTION: Body black, inconspicuously hairy; head with three obtuse indentations between the eyes; antennae, black; labrum and clypeus

Attalus scapularis

Identification: Det. M.A. Quinn, 2013 This species resembles typical A. humeralis closely as to color and runs to this species in my 1951 key to the species of Attalus . It is however, more oval, with the elytra less shining and much more densely and

Attalus scincetus

Attalus scincetus (Attalus scincetus) is a species in the family Melyridae, commonly known as soft-winged flower beetles, belonging to the order Coleoptera (Beetles). It is classified within the subfamily Malachiinae, tribe Malachiini, suborder Polyp

Attalus subtropicus

Identification: elytra shiny and nearly parallel-sided, back of head black and wide pronotal stripe always present Det. E. G. Riley, 2010 "Male. Elongate-oblong, scarcely widened behind . Color testaceous [dull brick red], the head [black] posterior

Attalus terminalis

Identification: red apical elytral margins - last key couplet: Elytra black; pale color confined to exact tips (extending narrowly up lateral margin for short distance in most males)

Attalus varians

Identification: elytra are piceous, the tips pale testaceous with the latter color extending along the suture without involving the margin.

Axinotarsus pulicarius

Identification: see earliest NA records: ON 2008 (BG data), BC 2010

Chaetocoelus setosus

Identification: female is brachypterous Type Locality: Columbus, Texas; E. A. Schwarz

Collops arizonensis 0

Collops arizonensis

Types: Holotype, male,; allotype, female; and two female paratypes, Chiricahua Mts., Ariz., June. D. K. Dunean

Collops bipunctatus

Identification: Pronotum red to dull reddish-yellow with two black spots; elytra green-blue to black; pilose overall. third antennomere enlarged in males

Collops flavicinctus

Identification: similar, at least in color pattern, to C. limbellus ; the two can be easily distinguished by the erect hairs on the elytra, pale in C. flavicinctus and black in C. limbellus Information on this page is based on Dr. Mayor's comments he

Collops granellus

Identification: diagnostic feature, small round granules on the elytra: (comment per Adriean Mayor) Type Locality: Chiricahua Mtns, AZ

Collops hirtellus

Identification: ?Holotype • var. lucens Fall, syntype

Collops histrio

Identification: Elytra coarsely punctate, shining; legs black. The male is easily distinguished from its allies by the shape of the first antennal segment and the black legs.

Collops knulli 0

Collops knulli

Identification: Both sexes can be easily separated from our other quadrimaculate species of Collops by the following characters: small size, elytral spots confluent or nearly so, legs pale, head pale anterior to the front margin of the eyes, the pale

Collops marginicollis

Identification: Type specimen extremely uncommon ― Adriean Mayor

Collops nigriceps

Identification: prothorax black on disc, or immaculate; antennae wholly testaceous in male (last couplet in key, emphasis added) ( 3 ) legs and a large patch on the disc of the prothorax black. The testaceous, tapering antennae of the male, with unus

Collops nigritus

Identification: species described from a single male coll'ed in AZ. differs from all species with unicolorous elytra by the rather strongly angulated first antennal joint of the male, the densely punctate prothorax, and the black elytra. (Schaeffer,

Collops pallipes

Identification: shiny unicolorous elytra, pale prothorax, and uniformly pale legs Type Locality: Brownsville, Texas VIII-8-37. D. J. and J. N. Knull, Collrs.

Collops scutellatus 0

Collops scutellatus

Identification: The coloration, the scarcely apically dilated basal joint of antenne, the red scutellum and the more shining elytra will separate this from all previously described maculate species. Red; metasternum and palpi black; head with central

Collops subtropicus 0

Collops subtropicus

Identification: Type matches Collops nigriceps (Say) which Schwarz reported as "common" in FL I find almost no literature records for subtropicus (MAQ, pers. obs. 2025) Type Locality: Jacksonville, FLA (Duval County)

Collops tricolor

Identification: Identification of C. nigriceps vs. C. tricolor . This is C. tricolor (Say). Note the relatively smaller 4th antennal segment. Compare with the closeup photo of C. nigriceps male antenna (first photo) in the C. nigriceps set of picture

Collops versatilis

Identification: coloration exceedingly variable • Holotype

Collops vicarius

Identification: Extremely like tricolor and separable with certainty only by the male antennal characters. The basal joint of the male antenna is here much less broadly triangular than in tricolor , being more than 1/2 longer than wide, and the 2d jo

Collops vittatus

Identification: Say's original 1824 description indicates pronotum has a large black spot (or two that are confluent), but the discussion in Fall states: "The thoracic spot may be large or small, is often divided into two smaller ones, and is not inf

Cordylepherus viridis

Similar in appearance to the more common Malachius bipustulatus, but can be separated with detailed examination. Cordylepherus viridis is slightly smaller and bluer than M. bipustulatus. Fairly frequent in England south of The Wash, much scarcer furt

Dasytes plumbeus

3.5 to 4.5 mm. Elongate, dark green with metallic sheen. Both long, erect hairs and flat pubescent on dorsal surface. Elytra wider at the base than the pronotum. Femora are black but tibiae and tarsi are pale. The adults are often found visiting flow

Endeodes basalis

Identification: According to Moore and Legner, 'This species is distinct in the combination of its long piceus elytra with the base pale and its cordate pronotum. The color of the abdomen is variable, ranging from entirely ferruginous to entirely pi

Eschatocrepis constrictus

Identification: shape of pronotum diagnostic ― Adriean Mayor

Common Malachite Beetle

Malachius bipustulatus

Length: 5.5-6 mm. Emerald green (can be bronze) elytra with twin red spots. The pronotum is transverse and usually has red margins on the anterior corners. The front of the head between the eyes curves back. Cordylepherus viridis is very similar but

Malachius thevenetii

Identification: Holotype see Adriean Mayor's comments at

Tanaops coelestinus

Identification: The color of the thorax is of no value in separating the closely allied T. mimus, T. coelestinus , and T. complex . These specimens all show a shining, denuded spot on each side of the prothorax, of variable size, near the posterior a

Tanaops longiceps

Identification: Type specimen Original description as reprinted in Fall

Tanaops testaceus

Identification: Oblong, parallel, uniform rufotestaceus in color, with the antennae, palpi, knees, tibiae and tarsi fuscous and the elytra gradually paler toward the apex. This species may easily be distinguished from all others of the genus Tanaops

Trichochrous erythropus

Identification: a common spring species in South Texas, the Hill Country, and the Llano Estacado Det. M. L. Gimmel, 2022

Trichochrous insignis

Trichochrous insignis (Trichochrous insignis) is a species in the family Melyridae, commonly known as soft-winged flower beetles, belonging to the order Coleoptera (Beetles). It is classified within the subfamily Dasytinae, tribe Listrini, suborder P

Trichochrous pallescens

Identification: In some specimens the elytra at base and along the suture may be more or less piceous

Trichochrous rufipennis

Trichochrous rufipennis (Trichochrous rufipennis) is a species in the family Melyridae, commonly known as soft-winged flower beetles, belonging to the order Coleoptera (Beetles). It is classified within the subfamily Dasytinae, tribe Listrini, subord

Trichochrous texanus

Identification: body black, legs rufous or testaceous, strong punctuation of the head and thorax; the antennae are shorter than the head and thorax, with the third joint slender, and the fourth not as wide as the fifth. uniformly olivaceous above hig

Trichochrous varius

Identification: A very distinct form, represented before me by numerous specimens displaying considerable variation, the central dark area of the pronotum being wholly obliterated in some cases. Type Locality: Benson, Cochise Co., AZ