Pollen beetle but pollen is a major part of its diet. Several members of the Nitidulidae are similarly referred to as pollen beetles. In particular, practically all the species in the genus "Meligethes" are called pollen beetles. Of these the most notorious is probably the one now accepted as being properly called "Meligethes aeneus"/"Brassicogethes aeneus". It is called the "Brassica pollen beetle", "Rape pollen beetle" and similar names, because it first became prominent as a pest of such crops in the first quarter of the 20th century. Many species in the family Oedemeridae are similarly called "pollen beetles". For example, the Southern
Spore Spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, fungi and protozoa. Bacterial spores are not part of a sexual cycle but are resistant structures used for survival under unfavourable conditions. Myxozoan spores release amoebulae into their hosts for parasitic infection, but also reproduce within the hosts through the pairing of two nuclei within the plasmodium, which develops from the amoebula. Spores are usually haploid and unicellular