''Brassicogethes aeneus'', the common pollen beetle, is a species of pollen beetle in the family Nitidulidae. Other common names include the rape pollen beetle and rape blossom beetle. It was previously known as ''Meligethes aeneus''. It is found in Europe and Northern Asia (excluding China) and North America. Rapsglanzkäfer Meligethes aeneus 6666

A subspecies of ''Brassicogethes aeneus'' is ''B. aeneus dauricus''. Adults are about 2–3 mm long, 1–2 mm wide and black with a hint of metallic green. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e are up to 3 mm long and white with brown sclerotised plates. ''Brassicogethes aeneus'' is an important pest of oilseed rape. It is not known whether it contributes to the

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...

of the crop. The female beetle lays its eggs in the

flower buds ''Flower Buds'' ( cs, Poupata) is a 2011 Czech drama film written and directed by Zdeněk Jiráský. Cast * Vladimír Javorský as Jarda * Malgorzata Pikus as Kamila * Marika Šoposká as Agáta * Miroslav Pánek as Honza * Natalie Řehořov� ...

of the host-plant and the larvae develop within the flowers. Oviposition and feeding damage the buds of oilseed rape and similar ''

Brassica ''Brassica'' () is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family ( Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called ''cole c ...

s'' and may cause the flowers to drop. Both adults and larvae feed on the pollen and nectar in the flowers.Williams, I. H. (1976), The infestation of oilseed rape (''Brassica napus'' L.) by the pests ''Meligethes aeneus'' Fab. and ''Ceuthorhynchus assimilis'' Payk. PhD thesis; University of London, UK.

References

* Audisio, P., A. R. Cline, A. De Biase, G. Antonini, E. Mancini, M. Trizzino, L. Costantini, et al. (2009). "Preliminary re-examination of genus-level taxonomy of the pollen beetle subfamily Meligethinae (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)". ''Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae'', vol. 49, no. 2, 341–504.

See also

References

Further reading