Bug FAQCommon Pollen Beetle
Brassicogethes aeneus · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Nitidulidae
Source: Wikipedia
Adults are tiny, about 2 to 3 mm long and 1 to 2 mm wide, black with a faint metallic green shine; larvae are up to 3 mm long, white with brown hardened plates. Both stages feed on flower pollen and nectar and are considered an important pest of oilseed rape, where their feeding can make buds drop.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Adults are black with a slight metallic green sheen.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure about 2 to 3 mm in length and 1 to 2 mm in width. Larvae grow up to 3 mm long and are white with brown sclerotised plates.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
It is an important pest of oilseed rape. Feeding and egg-laying damage the buds, often causing the flowers to drop.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It occurs in Europe, northern Asia (excluding China) and North America.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Both adults and larvae feed on pollen and nectar inside flowers.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Females lay eggs inside flower buds, and the larvae develop within the flowers.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range includes Europe, northern Asia (excluding China) and North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 19 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Utah, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Washington, West Virginia, Idaho, Montana.
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
What crops does the common pollen beetle damage?
It damages oilseed rape and similar Brassica crops by feeding on buds and causing flower drop.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I recognize an adult common pollen beetle?
Adults are tiny, black with a faint metallic green sheen and measure about 2 to 3 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is the common pollen beetle found?
It is found in Europe, northern Asia (excluding China) and North America.
Source: Wikipedia
What do the larvae look like?
Larvae are up to 3 mm long, white with brown hardened plates.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nitidulidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassicogethes_aeneus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.