{{Short description|Species of beetle}} {{Speciesbox | image = Pair of endemic beetles - Collops georgianus.jpg | genus = Collops | species = georgianus | authority = (Henry C. Fall, 1910) }}
'''''Collops georgianus''''', also known as the '''Georgia rock outcrop beetle''', is a species of soft-winged flower beetle endemic to rock outcrops in Georgia.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=King |first=Patricia Smith |date=1985 |title=Natural History of Collops georgianus (Coleoptera: Melyridae). |journal=Annals of the Entomological Society of America |volume=78 |issue=1 |pages=131–136 |doi=10.1093/aesa/78.1.131 }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=P. D. |date=1984 |title=Mating Behavior of the Rock Outcrop Beetle, Collops georgianus (Coloptera: Melyridae) |journal=Tribolium Information Bulletin |publisher=Department of Genetics, University of California |issue=24 |pages=124}}</ref>
== Description == Adults measure 4 - 4.5 mm in length with distinctive coloration, including chrome orange antennae, head, pronota, legs, undersides, and sack-like structures along the sides that protrude when disturbed, along with dark greenish-black elytra that have a narrow chrome orange suture.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Fall |first=H. C. |date=June 1910 |title=Miscellaneous Notes and Descriptions of North American Coleoptera |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/70468. |journal=Transactions of the American Entomological Society |volume=36 |pages=141}}</ref> The pale orange-red color on the head, legs, and underside makes this species unique.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Fall |first=H. C. |date=March 1912 |title=A Review of the North American Species of Collops (Col.) |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8194051 |journal=Journal of the New York Entomological Society |location=Pasadena, CA |publisher=New York Entomological Society |volume=20 |pages=253, 264 |via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}</ref> The head and elytra are finely textured and densely dotted with tiny pits, giving them a dull appearance.<ref name=":0" /> The beetle is covered with two types of fine pubescent hairs: tiny pale ones that lie flat and curve backward, and fewer, short black ones that stand upright.<ref name=":0" />
=== Male === Antennae are made up of several segments: the first basal joint is broad and triangular, the next are shorter and wider, and the middle ones nearly square, while the later segments become longer and slender.<ref name=":0" /> The antennae are moderately serrated overall.<ref name=":1" /> Like other ''Collops'' species, the third segment of the male's antennae are swollen and used for mating.<ref name=":3" /> The anterior segment of the thorax is slightly wider than long, with mostly straight sides.<ref name=":0" />
=== Female === The antennae is slender and simple and the anterior segment of the thorax is more rounded at the sides.<ref name=":0" /> Females are also larger than males.<ref name=":2" />
=== Larvae === Like other species in this genus, the larvae have a light maroon body, darker at the thorax, and a burnt umber head capsule and tail end (urogomphi), and they become chrome orange at the pupae stage.<ref name=":2" />
== Life cyle == Females lay several clutches of chrome orange eggs in the summer, especially in September, and the larvae pupate in the spring, becoming adults in May and June.<ref name=":2" /> Unlike other ''Collops'' species, ''C. georginaus'' has a single generation per year, with adults dying in late fall and larvae overwintering.<ref name=":2" /> Females consistently outnumber males, which may be an adaptation to compensate for potentially low juvenile survivorship.<ref name=":2" /> Human development and invasion by fire ants have a drastic effect on this species by causing population extinctions.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=King |first=Patricia Smith |date=1987 |title=Macro- and Microgeographic Structure of a Spatially Subdivided Beetle Species in Nature |journal=Evolution |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=401–416 |doi=10.2307/2409147 |jstor=2409147 |pmid=28568758 }}</ref>
== Diet and behavior == The adults are primarily predatory but they also scavenge for dead arthropods and consume plant matter.<ref name=":2" /> Their diet includes insects, oribatid mites, seeds (particularly from ''Diamorpha smalli''), pollen, and organic debris.<ref name=":2" /> This species is diurnal, with peak activity in the late afternoon.<ref name=":2" /> During hot days around midday, they usually sit on dead herbaceous debris, about 30 cm from the lichen covered strata.<ref name=":2" />
== Distribution and habitat == This species is endemic to rock outcrops that are distributed in patches in Georgia, mostly east of the Chattahoochee River and west of the Savannah River, including a lithonia gneiss outcrop in Walnut Grove, the granite outcropping of Panola Mountain, Heggie's Rock, and the migmatite outcropping of Arabia Mountain.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> This species is replaced on either side of this region, including Alabama, North and South Carolina, and the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia, by ''C. tricolor'' (''sublimbatus'' type, which has rufous elytral margins), a similar and closely related species.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=King |first=Patricia Smith |date=1988 |title=Distribution and Genetic Structure of Two Allopatric Beetle (Coleoptera: Melyridae) ) Species on Rock Outcrops in the Southeast |journal=Annals of the Entomological Society of America |volume=81 |issue=6 |pages=890–898 |doi=10.1093/aesa/81.6.890 }}</ref> Like ''C. tricolor'' (''sublimbatus''), this species inhabits outcrop island communities.<ref name=":5" /> ''C. georgianus'' has not been observed in habitats adjacent to the outcrops.<ref name=":2" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q135906023}}
Category:Melyridae Category:Beetles described in 1910